A Deal In the Dark
by Imagigamegirl
Summary: Snatcher has been acting strange lately. He's being more of a jerk than usual and now he has these challenging contracts for Hat Kid to do. Something isn't right and Hat Kid plans to find out what is happening. Pic belongs to DrCreo and Hat in Time belongs to Gears for Breakfast. Rated T, cause this is gonna get intense.
1. Encounter of the Darkest Kind

I've been eager to get this one out and ready! Just felt the need to wrap up Bow's appearance mini arc in the short stories/one-shots fic I have. For those that do read it or have read other ones, this takes place a little after Hattie's trip with Bow, which is also after the Arctic Cruise. Hope this will turn out good. x)

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Snatcher was floating through a deeper part of the forest, just past the swamp. Thankfully, this new strange presence he was sensing wasn't near _her_ manor.

Just minutes ago, Snatcher was reading one of his law books until he felt something strange enter the forest. It felt...abrasive. More abrasive than the kid's was when she first came. He was quietly grateful that the kid decided to visit those bird directors today, helping with their movies, instead of bothering him.

His minions sensed the strange presence as well, a couple going to their boss, concerned. He reassured them that it will be taken care of and went off to find it.

Now, he was looking all around the trees, his guard up. The presence feels so close and yet he can't see them.

"Whoever you are, show yourself now!"

"My, my. Is that any way to treat a guest?" Snatcher almost jolted upon hearing this new calm regal voice. He quickly turned around to see the source. A sort of silhouette hidden in the shadows of the forest was floating a little high up in the trees.

Snatcher had his magic warmed up. "Funny, I don't recall inviting anyone to my forest."

"Still have your wits about, I see." The silhouette floated around him, slowly circling. Chains could be faintly heard rattling, quietly echoing in the area.

"I will get to the point then. Leave now or your soul will be in my possession."

"Not sure if that is possible...but I simply came to talk and ask for a favor."

Snatcher showed a scowl as he kept his magic warmed up in his hands. "And you think I'm willing to listen to a stranger that wandered into my forest?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" The silhouette then floated up more so he appeared to be in front of the moon from Snatcher's point of view. In the light of the moon, Snatcher could see the details of this intruder.

The stranger had an oddly shaped head, like a sort of crescent mixed with a mask. His eyes were red and he had a grin similar to Snatcher's showing. He wore a broken monocle, a royal red torn coat that looked strangely familiar and chains on his wrists. He had no legs, much like Snatcher, but more like a ghost tail. He also had a few strange black pixels floating around him.

"You may call me Moonjumper."

"Whoever you are, I don't care. You're not welcome in my forest."

Moonjumper floated down, getting a tad bit close to Snatcher. Not too close, as he noticed the purple and yellow fire in his talons. "As I said, my friend, I'm only here to ask for a favor. You certainly can't turn away a deal now, can you?"

Snatcher's serious expression remained the same. But he remained silent. Moonjumper took this as an opportunity to continue speaking.

"You see, I've been around as long as you have and I know of the things that have happened in the past for you. That is why I'm willing to help you recover from them."

Snatcher didn't believe him. What could this freak do anyway?

"I've been very observant of recent events...including the hatted child that had wandered here and survived."

Snatcher's eyes widened. A sort of growl escaped as the flames in his hands increased a little in power and size. "**The kid is none of your business.**"

"I think she is both of our business if she holds the one thing that can change what has happened to the village. To you. Those Time Pieces that you saw as your property...are you aware they can rewind time?"

"...Yeah. So?" Truth be told, Snatcher didn't know at the start. They gave off a sort of strange powerful aura. But he had more self control unlike that red-hooded kid that used them last. He just wanted to keep them since they fell in his forest and he could probably use them for energy, much like consuming a soul.

"I think you're missing the point. With a Time Piece, maybe more, we could go back to before all this began. Before _she_ ruined your life."

The fire in Snatcher's hands started to diminish at the thought. He could go back...before he died? Stop himself from becoming the monster that he appeared to be?

"All we would have to do is have the child out of the picture."

Snatcher blinked. Take out the kid? He has already tried before. She's tougher than one would think...despite her child-like attitude. And was going back to the past worth taking out the one kid that didn't see him as a monster?

After a moment in thought, he looked up to Moonjumper with a serious expression, stating his answer.

"No."

Moonjumper's smile seemed to have lowered a little as he looked down to Snatcher with a seemingly raised eyebrow.

"I've seen what those things can do. And frankly, I don't want a relapse of what that red-hooded brat did when she had them. On top of that, getting rid of the kid isn't as easy as it sounds. So, sorry Moonboy. I'm gonna have to pass on your offer. And kindly ask you to get the heck. Out. Of my forest!"

Moonjumper's eye seemed to twitch upon hearing the nickname Snatcher gave him, but his smile seemed to have returned as he let out a small chuckle.

"Oh no. I'm afraid you misunderstood, my dear friend." He then held up his arms. Red strings tied around his fingers stretched out and quickly coiled around Snatcher, pinning his arms to his sides and leaving him suspended in midair.

Snatcher let out a sharp gasp as he started to struggle. Why won't his magic work on these things?!

Moonjumper then got close to him with a wide smile.

"**Ḭ̶̀ͅ ̴̥̮͝w̵̭̖͊͛ā̷̫̘̈́s̸͕͍̏͗n̶͈̐̆'̵͝ͅt̶̳͊ͅ ̶̮̳̈́́a̴͙̱̔̓s̵͈̽ͅk̸̤̈͘í̴͈͠n̸̜̘̕g̴̥͎̓͊ ̸͚̦̍f̴͓͉͒̽ȍ̶͔͚r̷͓̎̚ ̸͚̭̃y̷̘͕̿̍o̸̯͈͒̚u̵̳̕r̷̹̀͛ ̸̫͛p̵̟͘e̴͖͝ȑ̸̦̠͌m̸̰̤̓i̴͈̊ŝ̵̛̼s̸͈̅̊i̴̩͈̐̒o̴̖͎̒n̵͙̭̂.**"

He then phased into Snatcher, trying to take possession of him within his subconscious. Snatcher, still caught in the strings, began to scream. He tried to fight. He tried to use magic. He had to do something. _Anything_!

The minions were also noticing this sudden shift in auras and began huddling together as they heard their boss' screams of agony and terror echo through the forest.

Then after a few moments, there was silence. But there was no peace felt throughout the forest. Instead, something dark was felt throughout the forest. Something dangerous and with ill intent.

Snatcher was released from the red strings that ensnared him. He floated limp for a second, then his head rose up. His eyes had their normal golden glow, but there was a dark expression on his face. A wide golden grin that seemed to stick and malice behind those eyes.

He looked at his own talons. Red strings appeared at the tips of them. Then, with Snatcher's magic, they changed to blue, powered by his magic.

With them hanging off his talons, he looked up to where Hattie's ship was.

"_**Time to meet the hatted child.**_"


	2. A New Challenge

Hattie walked out of her room, rubbing her eyes and wearing her new pajamas from Bow and her mother: purple with a corgi on the shirt. She had a busy day yesterday, helping both Grooves and the Conductor with their movies.

She wondered if she should call Bow and see if she had any tips as well. She'd probably know best about glitter and music for DJ Grooves.

But that was a thought for later. Right now, she was hungry for some good breakfast. Surely Cooking Cat was making something good right about now. She hasn't heard that she had any early plans.

She walked into the kitchen with a yawn. "Morning, Mama Cookie." She then sat down at the table. But when she heard no response, she turned to the kitchen counter, expecting to see her there. However, to her mild surprise, she wasn't there.

Hattie got out of her seat and walked over to find a note. But...everything was in place from last night and there was nothing new. No note. No signs of anyone else being here.

That's really strange. Usually Cookie had the time to at least leave a note for Hattie nowadays.

"Maybe it was something urgent in Mafia Town or the studio…," Hattie reassured herself. Cookie was usually a busy cat, since she was known as one of the greatest chefs on the planet.

Hattie peeked out of the kitchen to look in the Main Hub for Mu. Surely she would've shown up, right?

But no sign of her either. The burger cushion remains untouched. When Hattie checked in the kitchen, all cookies were accounted for. Even the new kitten-shaped ones she got.

Now Hattie seemed concerned. Mu _always_ came to Hattie's ship in the morning. It's like a routine. She would find her asleep here most of the time, she'd say good morning to Hattie, they'd tell each other their plans, and go their separate ways. Sometimes they do so stuff together if Hattie had no major plans with any of her other friends.

Before Hattie could think more on what is going on and what she should do, the intruder alert went off. Hattie jolted and dashed out to the Main Hub, quietly hoping it was Mu or Cookie running late. To her surprise, no one was there.

Wait, how did her alarm go off without anyone coming through the one main entrance of the ship? Hattie hummed, frowning. Something's definitely off today. Maybe she should double check the maintenance on her ship. She headed to her room to change into her normal, and practically only, outfit. But once she entered the room, she found her intruder.

"Why hello there, kiddo! Nice place you've got here!" Snatcher was sitting over on the left side of her room on the walkway over her pillow pile. He had a book on hand with the title "How to Kill Kids" written on it.

"Snatcher?" Wait, now he's complimenting about her place? Hasn't he been here before? Huh...maybe he just never appreciated it before. She carefully approached as his eyes remained on her. Something about his expression felt wrong to her. He seemed...too happy to see her.

"What's up? Still alive and well, I see. What a shame."

"Yeah uh...what are you doing on my ship? Don't I usually visit _you_?"

"Thought I could change it up a bit today, kid! Cause I got something amazing planned for you! Well, amazing for me. As for you, well that's for you to find out." He let out a small chuckle after that statement. His grin remained wide and unchanging. This was actually pretty unnerving, even for Snatcher.

"BFF, if this is a prank, I swear I'll turn you blue and get you with my umbrella." Hattie showed a fed-up expression as she put her hands on her hips.

"Oh no, kid. I've got some fresh new contracts for you. If you do them for me, then I'll reward you handsomely. If you survive, that is."

Contracts? Again? He hasn't made her sign one since their fight. Why today? Why now?

Before Hattie could say anything, Snatcher opened up a scroll in front of her. It was a map of the planet, but it had a small purple mark in the middle of it near Mafia Town. He then explained, "I've got this little map for you. You'll notice I've only marked just one contract on it for now. You'll have to complete it before you unlock the rest. Checks and balances, you know."

Hattie glanced to Snatcher for a moment, then quietly took the map. He then held out the first contract scroll to her. Before she took it, he held it away from her and said, "And be careful, kid. These aren't your average everyday contracts. These are _advanced_ contracts. Wouldn't want you to _DIE_ on the job, right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Hattie finally took the contract and looked it over. But before she finished reading it, she looked up at Snatcher. His eyes remained fixated on her with the same wide grin. Hattie now frowned with worry. This was so unlike her BFF.

"Snatcher...are you feeling okay?"

The moment she asked that question, Snatcher's smile disappeared as he twitched, dropping the book. He held his head with a small growl and glanced to Hattie with mild fear in his eyes. Hattie's own eyes widen with shock and worry.

But that fearful expression was gone as quick as it came. A sort of dark expression then showed as he sat back up straight, turning to Hattie. "**Why does that matter?! I'm perfectly fine!**" He then roughly shoved Hattie off the walkway and into her pillow pile, having her yelp.

...He pushed her. He actually physically shoved her. If it weren't for the pillows breaking her fall, that would've hurt. Snatcher's _never_ done anything like that. Sure he'd pick her up by her cape and set her down or nudge her away. But he'd never shoved her like how he just did.

Hattie tumbled out of her pillow pile and looked up at Snatcher, who still showed his anger expression. "**Now get going on that contract!**" Hattie flinched. Did she really make him _that_ mad by showing concern for her friend?

She looked down at the map and contract in her arms, then stood up. "No."

He seemed to have twitched, hearing that. He flew down in front of her, looming over her tiny form. "**What?**"

Hattie seemed to tremble a little. Why was she afraid of him? Surely he wouldn't actually try to kill her...right? Not her BFF…

"N-no. I don't want to do these. I don't care about some dumb rewards. I just want answers!"

Oh it took a lot of willpower on "Snatcher's" end to keep from strangling the kid. But no, he was going to have fun with this kid first. He took a breath and said, "Fine. I'll tell you what you want to know after you complete this contract. Deal?"

Hattie quietly nodded. Now we're getting somewhere. She opened up the first contract and signed her name. Surprisingly, this contract was different than his usual ones. Now there were no pictures, places that will be open in his forest or other areas, or "I'll be keeping the following" section. There was just the title, terms, and dotted line for her signature. It was very straightforward. Kinda dull too.

Once she signed it, Snatcher stamped it with his signature stamp. "Now get to it, kid." He then flew back up to his spot, picking up his book, twitching a little.

Hattie frowned, watching him do this. She then grabbed her normal outfit and top hat and headed out of the room to change. "I'll be back, Snatcher."

She glanced back, hoping for a response. But she didn't get one. He just looked back in his book, hardly acknowledging her now. She looked down for a moment, then quietly exited. Today was not starting off great.

Once Hattie left, a voice was heard within Snatcher's subconscious.

"_Oh my dear puppet. Why did you try to fight? You know at your current strength, you had no chance._"

Then, Moonjumper could be faintly seen transparent behind Snatcher. He had blue glowing strings coiled around his wrists tightly and red string around his whole body. Snatcher's expression then showed struggle, pain and exhaustion.

Moonjumper slowly floated in front of him with a calm dark smile. His voice was hauntingly gentle. "_Don't think you can save her from her unavoidable fate, She will die and her soul and Time Pieces will be mine._"

Snatcher struggled a little, giving Moonjumper a cold death glare. "_**If you think that, Moonboy, then you don't know the kiddo like I do! She's a lot tougher than you'll ever believe.**_"

Moonjumper's expression immediately showed pure anger as the red strings around him tightened. Snatcher gasped in pain. He thought only blue attacks could really hurt him, but apparently the red strings can do a little damage. Not as harshly as a blue attack, but still extremely uncomfortable. He glanced to the blue ones around his wrists. ...He actually felt afraid of what Moonboy would do if he tightened those more.

Moonjumper then took a breath, calming his rage and allowing Snatcher to "breathe". He needed his puppet in one piece; otherwise, the hatted child was going to catch on. He feared she almost did when he lost control for a moment.

No matter. She will still do the tasks and she _will_ die. He'll make sure of that with any obstacle that gets in her way.

Once Snatcher gathered enough energy to at least speak, he asked, "_**If you want to kill the kid so much, then why not just do it?**_"

Moonjumper's smile returned as he looked up at Snatcher. "_Simple, my little puppet. I want to see how tough you say she is. I don't just want to kill her; I want to __**break **__her spirits. And who better to do the job than her dearest BFF?_"

Snatcher's glare returned. "_**You're sick. Even for my level of tricks.**_"

Moonjumper only showed a simple smirk and stated, "_Surely you wouldn't have thought of doing the same. Didn't you try to get rid of her before through contracts?_"

Shoot. Snatcher didn't have a counter for that. He did stop trying after his fight with the kid, but he _did_ do it before.

Moonjumper then gently tilted his head up, keeping that smug grin showing. "_You simply just didn't make them hard enough. Makes me wonder if you were holding back. No matter though. I doubt she will even make it past the first contract we gave her._"

Snatcher showed a scowl as Moonjumper went back behind him. "_**As I said, Moonbrat. That kiddo's tougher than you think. And you better watch your back. Once I gain control again, you're gonna be sorry! Unless that kid beats you into commission first!**_"

He had faith in that kid. She's overcome a lot of obstacles to get where she is now. ...He'd never admit it outloud, but he was quietly proud of her.

Moonjumper's only reply before fading back within him was, "_Tch. We'll just see about that, my little puppet._"

Just before Moonjumper had complete control over him again, Snatcher managed to say one thing under his breath.

"Be careful, kid."

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All there is to say about what is to come is this: let the Death Wish games...begin.


	3. Beating the Heat

Once dressed, Hattie took another look at her first contract. The title was written in purple font stating, "Death Wish." Ah yes, that didn't sound foreboding whatsoever.

This challenge was called, "Beat the Heat. Turn off all lava faucets." There was a little addition under it that said, "It's much hotter than usual, cool yourself off!" There were a couple bonuses too. "Don't get too hot" and "Don't cool down more than 2 times."

Hattie hummed, already seeming confused. Turn off the lava faucets? But they're already off. And how is she going to cool off? Looking up to Earth, she sharply gasped at the sudden change in scenery for Mafia Town.

What was blue oceans just a minute ago was now boiling lava. Wow, deja vu. Could Mu have turned them on again and Snatcher predicted that? No, wait, could _he_ have turned them on?

Hattie rolled up the map and contract, placed them in her top hat and decided to find out for herself. Making sure she had a Time Piece on hand, she opened up the hatch of her ship and jumped down to Mafia Town.

Just as she vaguely remembered, it already felt warm dropping in. Lava was flooding all over Mafia Town. Mafiosos were all trying to take shelter on the rooftops while a few suffered in the rivers of lava that flowed throughout the town.

Hattie spotted the Science Mafia over by the observatory and landed there. "Science Mafia!"

He turned to Hattie, surprised. "Little hat girl! Mafia is so glad you're here! Perhaps you can help fix the town again?"

"Of course. What happened though?"

"Someone turned on all faucets in Mafia Town again. Same faucets that control the town volcano! Mafia thought it was red-hooded girl again, but this time, Mafia saw a strange creature. It looked like a shadow ghost."

Hattie frowned. So it really was Snatcher. But he never terrorized the people on this planet like this unless they were in his forest. Sure he'd love to scare them straight, but never try to destroy a whole town.

Seriously, what is wrong with him today?

"Little hat kid, can you help save Mafia Town again?" Hattie snapped out of her thoughts as she looked up to the Science Mafioso. She nodded with a confident smile.

"You can rely on me." And to start, she hopped right off the edge to the first faucet near the waterslides.

As she whacked the faucet off with her umbrella, she began to ponder the conditions of said contract as well as what Snatcher told her. It was a little hot now, sure, but she was doing alright so far. What if he only called them advanced contracts because they were outside his forest and appear a bit more challenging?

Hattie hummed in thought, wiping her forehead with her sleeve. Tapping her top hat, she sensed the next one near the Market Plaza. She dove right down to the stone balcony and used one of the patio umbrellas to leap up to the small pool deck. She spotted two faucets from there. One was at the tower where she sometimes would find the Badge Seller. The second was right in the middle of the plaza.

She dove over to the tower one first, turning it off. She then hopped onto the banner wire, making her way to the next faucet. Once in front of it, she began jumping on the wire to get some air. Once high enough, she dove to the faucet and turned it off.

Was it her or was it getting hotter by the second? Hattie began panting, taking her top hat off and waving it in front of her. But even that wasn't doing her any good. She had to stay focused though. Turn off the faucets.

Her top hat then pointed her to the lighthouse. On her way, she felt her movements go slower. In fact, her feet were kind of burning from running. Was it this hot the last time she did this?

"All this heat's great, eh? Personally, I prefer freezing to death." Hattie jolted, looking up the small staircase on the grassy patio. There was a large wooden bucket of water and Snatcher was sitting in it. He was even holding a glass of ice cold lemonade with ice cubes in it and a bendy straw.

"Snatcher? What are you doing here?" She went up the staircase, wiping a layer of sweat off her forehead.

"I'm just watching the show, kid. Mainly just to watch you fail your task." He then took a long slow sip of the lemonade. This somehow irritated Hattie. He doesn't even need to eat or drink and yet he is doing this to mock her. What a jerk!

He chuckled a little, seeing her reaction. "You might wanna get cooled off, kid. You're not looking too good."

Hattie did feel like her vision was starting to blur. She tried to climb into the bucket of water Snatcher was in, but he shoved her off, having her fall on her behind.

"Hey! This one's taken. Go find your own, brat." Hattie showed a scowl at him and picked herself up. She needed to cool off and fast. Otherwise, she's gonna pass out before getting to the faucet at the lighthouse.

Quickly using the patio umbrellas, she began looking around for another water bucket. To her luck and relief, she spotted one near the construction site where she saved one of the old citizens from some bullying Mafioso.

Without hesitation, she dove right to it and jumped in, exhaling with relief. She swore she heard steam. But as it turns out, she wasn't alone in here.

"Hey! Go get your own–wait...Hat Kid?" Hattie blinked, seeing Mu with her.

"Mu? Oh my gosh, you're okay!"

"Yeah! Once I saw the lava come, I took shelter in here, since it's nice and cool. Thankfully, no Mafia can fit in these buckets. But if you think I caused this, I swear it wasn't me this time! Honest."

"No, I know. The Science Mafia guy said that it might've been Snatcher."

"That noodle-looking shadow ghost guy you're friends with? He can't torment the Mafia! That's my job!" Mu frowned, now seeming irritated.

"Either way, something's not right about him. He's...never been a jerk like this before."

"I knew he was a real bad guy!" Mu slammed her fist down, proud of her belief, but that splashed both her and Hattie in the face. "Oh, my bad."

Hattie wiped away the cooling water. "No, that's fine. It helps. But no, what I mean is that he's never acted like this before. But I think he did this for the contract he made me sign." She then pulled out the contract and showed it to Mu.

After Mu looked it over and handed it back to her, she then said, "Well, I don't know how I can help ya, kid. If I were you, I'd focus on getting the last few faucets then cooling off."

Hattie then blinked, getting an idea. She then grabbed Mu's hands. "Mu, maybe you _can_ help me! Help me turn off the faucets!"

Mu blinked in surprise, then looked outside the bucket. "I dunno. It's kinda nice to watch the Mafia suffer the consequences."

"Mu, c'mon. You don't have to be nice to them, but we can't just leave them like this. On top of that, if I don't get this done, I won't be able to help Snatcher."

Mu let out a small groan. "Fine! I'll at least get one faucet for ya. I'll head for the lighthouse, you grab the one under the house near that blue bridge."

"Alright, I already got the two by the plaza and the one near the waterslides."

"Oh, cool! Then it's just the two I mentioned and the one near the docks. Ready, rebel squad member?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, my friend." The two girls nodded with a determined smile as they readied themselves.

"Ready, break!" The two jumped out of the bucket, splitting up. Hattie dove for the one past the bridge while Mu navigated through the town, making her way to the lighthouse.

Snatcher was watching the Mafia struggle through their lava coated town when he spotted Mu heading for one of the faucets.

"_Hm? The hatted child is getting some help through her contract? Oh, that won't do._"

Snatcher then flew out of the water bucket, dropping his glass of lemonade in the process, and headed towards Mu.

She managed to reach the faucet, wrapping her arms around the handle. "Geez, this was a lot easier when the town didn't have lava flowing! How does Hat Kid do this normally?"

"**Perhaps because **_**she**_ **is the one that is supposed to be doing this?**" Mu jolted by the sound of the menacing voice. Before she could turn to the source, she was then grabbed by her hoodie, now hanging 50 feet in the air over the pool of lava below.

"H-hey! Let go of me, you psycho!"

"Oh, I'd be more than happy to do so, kid." Mu managed to look up at who was holding her. Her expression then looked mildly terrified. Snatcher was showing a wide sinister smile, still having a tight grip around her cape.

"But unfortunately, I've got big plans for the kid if she survives this and you'll need to be alive for it. Then again, if she fails…" A dark chuckle escaped. "What was it that you were saying before about us bad guys deserving to be thrown in to lava?"

Mu's face went pale. He wouldn't.

"Well, **let's see how **_**you**_ **handle it!**" He then tightly gripped her waist and reared back to throw her.

"WAIT! NO! DON'T THROW MEEEEEEEEEE!" But he does so, chucking her out to the lava sea. He laughed, watching her go.

Mu screamed as she began getting close to hitting the lava pool below her. But just as she was 5 feet away from doing so, she was grabbed by her hood again. Trembling, she looked up, seeing Snatcher as the one that grabbed her again.

"But like I said...I need you alive if that kid manages to finish this first contract. Man though, you should've seen your face. HAHAHAHAHA! Priceless!" Mu quickly wiped away the tears that were stinging in her eyes. Hattie wasn't kidding; he really _is_ being a jerk.

Snatcher floated back to the town and dropped her into the clock tower. "Now if you want to be a good guy, you will stay put until the kid is done with _her_ task." He then flew off before she could answer.

Mu was trembling. He actually almost killed her. She had a hard time believing that Hattie had the right to call him a friend. She's gotta warn her.

But before she could exit, she then looked down. Seems Snatcher took away the banner wirelines that usually connected to the clock tower. On top of that the floor was surrounded by lava. No way she could jump to the rooftops as well. Overall, she was stuck.

Mu groaned in frustration and punched the stone wall beside her. It was getting hot too. She slid down, tucking her legs up. "Hat Kid...for the love of cod, finish this task quickly."

Hattie whacked the docks' faucet off and smiled. "All done!"

"I wouldn't say _that_, kiddo. You're still missing one." Hattie gasped, seeing Snatcher float down in front of her.

Did Mu bail on her? No, she saw the look in her golden-orange eyes. She was set on helping her. She wouldn't backstab her again.

"I saw that red-hooded brat try to do your task for you. Can't let that happen, kiddo. This is _your_ contract. No one's holding your hand through it."

Hattie softly gasped. "Where is she?"

"Relax, she's just sitting cozy up in the clock tower. Though, she's not gonna be able to cool off from there. If I were you, I'd hightail it to that last faucet if you wanna make sure she doesn't end up with heatstroke. Hahahahahahahaha!" He then flew off.

Hattie's eyes widen with worry. Mu was stuck at the clock tower without a cooling water bucket to get to? She'll get overheated! With no time to lose, she quickly scrambled off the faucet, looking for a shortcut to the lighthouse.

She then spotted the ice platforms her Ice Hat could use to fly her to different areas. She quickly placed on her Ice Hat and flung herself to the observatory platform. Running around, she dove back to the lighthouse.

Using the stream as a bit of a boost, she dashed down and used her hookshot to swing to the faucet. She quickly turned it off the moment she landed. "Got it!"

Just like the last time she did it, water bursted out instead of lava. The place was still boiling hot though and Hattie was coming close to passing out. She quickly swung back to find a bucket of cooling water to dive into.

She passed Snatcher, who was now sitting in the cooling bucket she found him in before. As she ran by, she heard him go, "If I knew setting you on fire was _this_ easy, I would've done it ages ago!"

Hattie frowned, ignoring him. She then spotted the cooling bucket she found Mu in ahead and dove into it. She didn't stay in long though. Just a quick splash and out. She tapped her top hat, now wondering what to do to show she completed the contract.

It then pointed her to the observatory deck. She climbed up quickly and spotted the cannon to Mafia HQ open. She climbed into it and it shot her up. Much like last time, there were Mafia with treats and goodies, celebrating Hat Kid's victory.

The Science Mafia shook her hand and said, "You did it once again, little hat child! Here, take this as a reward, little hero. Mafia remember it looked like something you used to look for."

Hattie was questioning what he meant when she looked to her reward. Her eyes then widen. Wait...was that a Time Piece? No, it couldn't be. It looked like one, but different.

Instead of its white sparkling sand, it now had dark purple sand and gave off an eerie glow. The sense of power it was emitting felt...wrong. Like it held a more corrupting power than a regular Time Piece. Something dark.

Hattie cautiously picked it up and looked it over. Even holding it in her hands felt wrong. Hattie softly said to herself, "Snatcher...what did you do?"

She then gasped, remembering something. "MU!" She carefully pocketed this strange Time Piece and dove for her friend in the clock tower. Her eyes widen with worry when she found her, laying on the ground, unconscious. Her face looked flushed and she was sweating profusely.

Hattie quickly hugged her, pulling out her real Time Piece. "Hang in there, sis. I gotcha." Holding onto her, the two flew back up to the ship.

"Snatcher" frowned, watching her go from below. Seems the kid actually passed.

"_**Ha! Told ya, Moonboy. It's gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of the kid.**_"

Still keeping Snatcher under control, Moonjumper allowed a dark smile to be shown.

"_So...the child refuses to die, huh?_" He then flew back up to the ship.

"_W̶̰̦͌͠é̴̡͖'̵̕͜l̶̜͂l̶̳̩͐̓ ̵̡͓̏̒j̸̦̐͝ͅu̷̹̓́s̵̛̯̪͑ẗ̸̲͠ ̴̡̊͝s̵̱͖̔ḙ̷̂͆é̸̞̃ ̴̦̈́͒a̵͚̪͝b̵̳̺̑̍ó̸̯͝ű̶͈͍t̵̡̢͑͛ ̵̲͋̄t̴̰͈̽h̸̔͠ͅả̸̓ͅt._"


	4. Cooling Down

Once onboard her ship, Hattie wasted no time taking care of Mu. She quickly set her down on the floor in her air-conditioned ship.

"Hang on, Mu. I'm gonna get some water!" She jumped up the ladder and dashed into the kitchen. Soon as she entered, she stopped, seeing Cooking Cat pacing.

"Mama Cookie!"

"Hattie!" She then ran over and hugged Hattie firmly, relieved. "Thank the stars. You're okay. Soon as I saw the town flood with lava, I fled up here and didn't find you. I got worried."

"I'm okay, Cookie. Oh, but Mu isn't! I think the heat got to her and I need to help her!" Cooking Cat immediately released her embrace and looked down at her seriously.

"Where is she now?" Hattie pointed out of the kitchen. Cookie exited and gasped, seeing heat-exhausted Mu laying on the floor. She slid down the ladder and quickly got to work. Thankfully, she knew first aid.

"Hattie, dear, go get a damp cool washcloth and a cold glass of water, please. Quickly now." Hattie nodded, quickly going back into the kitchen to grab such things.

Meanwhile, Cookie took off her chef coat, showing a sort of cream colored long-sleeve shirt underneath. She folded up the coat and propped it under Mu's legs to keep them elevated.

"Now, Mu dear, I'm gonna take off your hood to help you cool off." Mu mumbled something incoherent. Cooking Cat could only assume she meant "okay." She still had her pink dress with the purple sash on underneath, but at least with the hood off, it'll be easier to cool her off.

"I got the water and cloth!" Hattie hopped down with both things on hand. Working on the Arctic Cruise has really helped her with these sort of tasks.

"Be careful, don't spill the glass. Just hand them to me, dear." Hattie did as she was told, watching over Mu with worry. Cookie folded the damp cloth and placed it on her forehead. She then gently had her sit up a bit and take small sips of the water.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"Poor dear's suffering a bit of heat exhaustion...but thankfully, that's the worst of it. She'll be alright once she's completely cooled off." Hattie exhaled with relief.

Now that Mu was taken care of, she now had to take care of Snatcher. She pulled out her contract and saw that it was complete. Bonuses included. She only cooled down twice and didn't overheat, after all. She smirked, feeling a little proud.

"Hattie, do you know how those faucets turned back on?" Hattie blinked, rolling up the contract once more, and looked to Cookie.

"Well...I think Snatcher did it. But I don't really get why. All I know now is that he's not acting like himself, as far as I've known him, and he's making me do these 'advanced contracts.' I don't know why now or why he's doing it..." She then looked to the hallway to her room. "But I'm gonna find that out."

She then looked back to Cookie. "Will Mu be alright while I go check with Snatcher real quick?"

Cookie gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course, sugarcube. I'll watch over her."

Hattie smiled back. "Thanks, mom." She then headed into her room to meet with Snatcher. Mom. That was kind of a new one for Cookie. She smiled warmly at the title nonetheless.

As Hattie walked down the hallway, she quietly pulled out the corrupted-looking Time Piece from her pocket and looked it over once more. What is this exactly? Surely it's not a real Time Piece, right?

She then looked up when she heard the familiar "woosh" of her doors opening. Looking up her pillow pile, she spotted Snatcher in his spot. He glanced up from his book with that same wide grin she's been seeing him show. Though...that smile was twitching a little now.

"Hey, kiddo! Gotta say, almost didn't expect you to get this far already." Hattie frowned though, crossing her arms and showing a fed-up expression.

"Aww, got mad because you weren't allowed in the cooling bucket I was in?"

"No, I'm mad that you put Mafia Town in danger like that! Mu got heat exhaustion...whatever that means exactly. All I know about it though is that she practically passed out because of that challenge."

"Well, it's the brat's fault. She shouldn't have tried to help you through _your_ contract." He looked so dismissive saying that. As if he didn't care. Hattie frowned, then pulled out said contract.

Walking up to him, she held out the unrolled contract, showing that she finished it. "Contract's complete. Now I want answers. Why are you making these? Why not just do it in your forest? What is happening to you? Cause you're being a real jerk."

Snatcher sighed, taking the contract. "You could afford to be more polite, kid. Is a simple 'please' too much to ask for?"

Hattie frowned. She was not in the mood. Snatcher smirked at her expression. "Well, I did say I'd give you answers. I'll keep it simple and brief then."

She gave him her attention as she looked right into his eyes. He just continued showing his wide smile as he simply stated, "I want your soul."

Hattie blinked in shock. Even now, he's still aiming to get it?

Snatcher continued, "After our last fight, and that trick you put into the last contract, I knew I had to come up with something greater and harder to get what I wanted. I figured what my forest had to offer alone wouldn't be enough of a challenge for you. So, I expanded the horizons and made challenges for the _entire_ planet!"

"You...still want my soul? But we're BFFs! BFFs don't steal each other's souls!"

"You understand, like I said before, that's not how contracts work, right?" In Moonjumper's case, it would not apply to him. Snatcher was to be her BFF, not him; hence, he could be as evil as he can be to Hat Kid and get away with it.

Hattie began to look down, taking all this in. She thought he was actually starting to care about her. The Arctic Cruise...her return from visiting Bow...was all that just a facade? Was he really just scheming and tricking her?

There was no way. He seemed so genuine in his emotions. If he really didn't care, he would've done this sooner.

Hattie then blinked, remembering another question. She pulled out the purple Time Piece and held it up to him. "Well, what are these then? They can't be Time Pieces, right?"

"Smart observation, kid. No, they're not. At least, not exactly." He then took it from her hands and held it up with pride. "I made these myself. Tried to recreate a Time Piece out of dark magic. They may not rewind time like yours can, but they can bring great power to the possessor of them. Think of these as your end goal items that you need to get to finish your contract, just like your real Time Pieces."

So that purple sand was just pure dark magic? In no way did that sound safe. But he was right about one thing: in every task that she has done, she earned a Time Piece at the end of it. It would make sense that these weird purple ones would represent the end of her Death Wish contracts.

"So with each one you earn, I'll hold onto it. And you know, I'm actually glad you got through that first contract! I had so many more planned and I was worried you wouldn't get to them."

"But I don't want to do more. I just want to know why you still want my soul. Contract or not, you're still not acting like you were before." Hattie was showing concern now.

Snatcher's right eye now twitched. "As I said, kid..._**I'm fine.**_" Hattie took a small step back as his voice dropped to a dangerous low tone. He's being a bit scarier than she remembered him being before.

"And whether you like it or not, you're doing these contracts I have set for you. Do so, and I'll still give you those rewards I promised as well as more answers if you still have more questions." Hattie frowned. She _really_ didn't want to keep going on this...but she had to figure out what was wrong with Snatcher.

Despite what he keeps telling her, she can tell something is off about him. But perhaps if she played along for now, she'll get more answers and find a way to help her BFF get back to his senses.

With a sigh, Hattie quietly nodded. "Alright...then what's next?" Snatcher's wide grin seemed to have somehow grown wider. It honestly made Hattie uncomfortable how he was smiling so much now.

"Well, even with the bonuses, you're still only able to do this one for now." A new contract scroll poofed in front of Hattie. She quietly took it and opened it.

The title stated, "So You're Back From Outer Space" Her goal was to reach one of Snatcher's Time Pieces. The little plus said, "Mafia saw spaceship!" That sounded a little familiar to her. Finally, the bonuses were, "Smash all the UFOs" and "Reach the end in 65 seconds."

Hattie frowned. This looked hard already, but there was no turning back on it now. Snatcher held out the quill for her and she signed her name. He then stamped it.

"Now, get to it, trooper!" Hattie quietly nodded, looking to her map. Before she located where this new challenge is suppose to be, she then looked at this one candle symbol that was on her map.

"Hey, Snatcher. What's this candle thing?" She held up the map to show him.

He looked at it, then explained, "Oh, those are little bonus contract tasks that you can do at anytime. They can offer you rewards as well. If you want to start it, just light one of the candles in the room." Hattie looked to the candles that were around her walkway. They were all unlit, but surely that's a fire hazard near her pillows. They were also very big and had Snatcher's face waxed on them.

She decided to start at the bottom-most candle. Digging into her top hat, she pulled out a small box of matches. Lighting one, she carefully lit the candle and looked up to Snatcher.

"Well done, kiddo. You can light a candle. I'm real impressed." Something told Hattie that he was using sarcasm as he stated all that. "As I said, you can complete that contract at any time, and some places might be more suitable than others for whatever bonus contract you'll do. So go take your pick!"

"How will I know I'm done with it completely and I plan to do another candle?"

"I'll tie a little red ribbon around it and you'll blow it out once it's done." Snatcher then snapped in the contract Hattie signed up for and tossed it to her.

Hattie caught it and pocketed it, willing to look it over later. This all seems pretty straightforward. Now she had to do this new bonus contract and this "back from outer space" one. Snatcher wasn't kidding when he said he had more planned.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go on! Shoo!" Hattie jolted a bit as Snatcher snapped out of her thoughts, dismissing her. She frowned and quickly left the room.

Once outside, she saw Mu and Cookie talking with each other. Mu didn't look as worn down as she did just a little bit ago.

"Mu!" Hattie pocketed the contracts and dashed to her, hugging her.

Cookie quickly stated, "Ah ah ah! Careful, Hattie, she's still recovering!" Mu was a bit surprised by the sudden hug, but hugged back nonetheless with a small smile. She still felt weak, but definitely better than earlier.

"Thanks for the save, kid. Don't know what would've happened if you didn't get us out of Mafia Town." Hattie's smile grew as she continued hugging.

Mu then had Hattie release her embrace so she could look into her turquoise eyes in a serious manner. "Your brute of a friend almost chucked me into the lava sea then left me stranded in the clock tower! You can't just expect me to believe he's still a good guy to you."

Hattie's eyes widened. Snatcher really did that? ...No, perhaps Mu was exaggerating. She did that a lot. Nonetheless, Hattie frowned. Sure, Snatcher was being a jerk lately. But surely he wouldn't go _that_ far...would he?

"I don't know what to think of him right now. All I know is I need to get through whatever challenges he's throwing at me and get answers."

Mu sat up more straight and prepared to crack her knuckles. "Well then, let's take on whatever that noodle shadow ghost has to offer!"

Hattie then shook her head, gently lowering Mu's fists. "He wants me to do it myself. They're _my_ contracts, he says. And when you tried to help, he stopped you and you almost got overheated."

"But you can't fight him alone!"

"I know, but I've been through his contracts before. Surely the oncoming ones won't be as bad as they say they are. After all, I got through the first one fairly well."

Mu frowned, quietly concerned for her friend. Cookie then finally interjected. "Well, we'll be rooting for you on the sidelines then. In the meantime, Mu, let's rest up for the night." She then picked up Mu, carrying her.

"Wh-Cookie! I'm not a baby! I don't need to be carried!"

Cookie just smiled a little and said, "That is true. You're not a baby. But you _are_ in no condition to run around for now. I'm carrying you to bed and that's that."

Mu pouted, but didn't bother fighting her more about it. Cookie then turned to Hattie and said, "We'll be up in the Attic. Please try not to be out too late and be careful."

Hattie nodded, giving Cookie a reassuring smile. As Cookie headed to the elevator, Mu looked over Cookie's shoulder to Hattie and said, "Good luck, fellow rebel. Show that Snatcher that you're tougher than he thinks."

Hattie's smile grew as she nodded once more. Once the two of them went up to the Attic, Hattie pulled out the main contract she got first and the map. According to the map, this contract starts at the Observatory Deck.

She looked at Earth. It should be nighttime right about now. And judging by those clouds in Mafia Town, it was going to be a rainy day. Hattie dashed back to her room, grabbed her raincoat, and dashed back to the hatch.

A rainy day wasn't going to stop her now.


	5. Back From Outer Space

Night fell as well as rain over Mafia Town. Hattie had her umbrella ready right as she broke through the storm clouds. Landing on the Observatory Deck, she opened up her contract to take another look at it.

All she has to do is get to one of Snatcher's handmade Time Pieces, which she will begin to call Deathwish Time Pieces for convenience, and defeat some UFOs. Aside the 65 second timer, that doesn't seem to hard.

She tapped her top hat and it sensed the Deathwish Time Piece...at the clock tower in the Market Plaza? If it was all the way over there, then why does she need to start at the Observatory Deck?

"Burn some paintings, unclog a toilet, deliver some mail, oh you thought my contracts were so easy back then." Hattie jolted and turned around, seeing Snatcher behind her. He was floating with his arms folded behind his head and a smug grin showing. What was he doing here?

"Your Time Piece may be over at the tower, but there's only one way to reach it." He then picks up Hattie, having her yelp as he only held her by the cape. Dangling very high in the air by only her cape was discomforting to say the least. She then heard Snatcher darkly chuckling as he lifted her close to his field of vision and motioned the path ahead. What Hattie saw made her eyes go wide with disbelief.

It was practically an obstacle course of death ahead of her. The obstacles she did for the Time Piece from that Science Mafioso were there, but there was much more to it. Now there was a cannon that would shoot her to more obstacles. Those UFOs the contract mentioned were everywhere. There has to be around 7 of them floating along her path. Not to mention there were wrecking balls over small platforms, angry Mafioso, and a firework missile launcher near where the Deathwish Time Piece was.

Snatcher was not serious about having her achieving this contract.

He then drops her back on the Observatory Deck. "Time's ticking, kiddo. Get to it!"

Oh cod, he's serious.

But Hattie shook her head, pushing away her doubt. She's been through Mu's castle traps when she took the Time Pieces. Surely this won't be harder than that.

With that confidence boost, Hattie took off. Her diving skills were going to be needed to reach some unreachable platforms. Surely though, she cannot take out all UFOs and do this whole mess of a course in less than 65 seconds.

She can come back to that bonus later. Right now, she needed to at least get her main objective done and maybe the first bonus along the way. Luckily, she knew how to take out the UFOs. She quickly dashed under the first one, having it fall and try to hit her, then she whacked it, poofing it into pons. They were basically defective props from Grooves' set, so she has learned. ...That makes her wonder how Snatcher got a hold of them.

Getting through the obstacles at the start and taking out the three UFOs wasn't too challenging. It was after the cannon where things got difficult.

Once again, her diving skills were practically saving her life. Falling from the height she was at would result in some serious injuries. She could pull out her umbrella, but getting back up to where she was earlier would take more time than it should for this contract.

She managed to slip past one angry Mafioso trying to beat her up, but saw a wrecking ball coming right at her. "YIKES!" She rapidly switched to her Time Stop Hat and jumped while pushing the clock piece on her hat. All time slowed down while she narrowly dodged the wrecking ball behind her. She quickly jumped past the second platform with another wrecking ball, just as the time limit on her Time Stop Hat powers ended.

A couple more angry Mafioso were waiting for her, but she had no time to deal with them. Jumping up, she narrowly dodged a falling UFO. With one solid whack, it was gone.

She then hopped onto a patio umbrella, springing her high in the air. She then had to go to two more, each one on a towering stack of crates. One was swaying, obviously unbalanced. Hattie really needed to time that one.

She was so close now! She could see the Deathwish Time Piece glowing on the plank in front of the clock tower. Only two UFOs to deal with as well. She quickly began walking along the banner tightropes provided for her as she headed for the platforms.

But then she spotted two sparkling firework rockets heading right for her. More homing missiles?

"Oh, give me a break!" She quickly dove to the platform, right as they exploded where she was last. She quickly took out the UFOs and dove for the Deathwish Time Piece. One rocket did fire right at her in mid-air, knocking the wind out of her and into the Deathwish Time Piece.

As she managed to grab it, her body slammed against the clock tower and fell on the plank. She sat up as best as she could, then screamed as two more missiles came right at her. She rolled off the plank just as they hit where she was, exploding the plank to bits. She quickly pulled out her umbrella and stopped herself right before she hit the hard ground.

On her knees and with the wind knocked out of her, she took a moment to control her breathing. That was insane...and not in a good way. But, at least she was done. Yeah, no way was she doing that again to try and do it faster. She was lucky to do it and make it out _alive_.

Staggering to her feet, sore from getting hit by the rocket and the wall, she pulled out her Time Piece and flew back up to her ship. As she was leaving, a glitchy figure in the shadows watched her go.

Back on the ship, Hattie rolled up the contract and walked to her room, keeping the Deathwish Time Piece tucked under her arm. It was late and it's been a really long day for Hattie. She didn't want to do anything else except sleep for the night. With her luck, when she wakes up, Snatcher won't be as much of a jerk.

Snatcher was sitting in his usual spot, looking kind of smug. "What a way to finish, kiddo. Practically almost went out with a bang! Hahahahahahaha!"

Hattie frowned and set down the mostly complete contract and Deathwish Time Piece in front of him. "I'm going to bed."

"Bed? Kid, you've got a _lot_ more to do if you wanna keep your soul."

"It's late, Snatcher. I need sleep."

Snatcher paused, then shrugged. "Alright, kiddo. Go on and take a break."

Hattie blinked. Was he really okay with it? To answer her question, he added, "No, I don't mind. I have an eternity! _You're_ the one that should be worried."

Hattie frowned once more. She was too tired to even come up with a sassy comeback. All she could manage was a dismissive wave as she went to her closet to grab a pair of pajamas. She then went into her secret pillow fort to change.

Once dressed, she clapped twice, turning off the lights. The only things keeping this room lit now was DJ Grooves' gift of glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling and the candle she lit for a side task contract.

She then hopped into bed, welcoming its comfort to her aching body. However, she soon learned that someone else wasn't going to rest. After ten minutes of tossing and turning, her eyes flutter open a little, then open wide. Snatcher was still there.

Just sitting there.

...Watching her.

"...Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Don't need to, kiddo." He still kept that creepy smile and his golden eyes locked on her. Even from where she was lying down, she could still see him twitch every once or twice. There was no way she was sleeping with these conditions.

Letting out a groan of annoyance, she climbs out of bed. She then grabs her pillow and an extra blanket she had underneath the bed. Leaving her room, she faintly heard Snatcher chuckle.

She then looked to the burger cushion in the Main Hub and laid down on it. Luckily, Mu was up in the attic with Cookie. Hattie will just have to take over the burger cushion for tonight.

Rumbi, now concerned seeing their master not in bed like she should be, drove up to her, gently nudging her feet. Hattie looked down at Rumbi, who was quietly beeping with concern. She showed a tired smile as she patted Rumbi's top.

"I'll be fine, bud. Better out here than in there with Snatcher being a creepy jerk." She then adjusted herself into a more comfortable position on the cushion. Rumbi quietly drove to her side, nuzzling against her other leg.

Hattie managed a more warm smile as her eyes drooped close. She gently pet the top of Rumbi and said, "Don't worry, buddy. Maybe things will be better tomorrow."

With her trusty Rumbi staying by her side, Hattie soon fell asleep.

.

.

.

Sorry this chapter was a little short. I've already outlined what is to come up until Subcon Forest as of now though. For now, take care and see you in the next chapter soon. x)


	6. Ribbons and Rifts

Hattie groaned in her sleep as she adjusted her sore sleepy form. Sleeping on a burger cushion isn't as comfy as she hoped it would be. She could faintly hear the Time Rift alarm going off, but maybe after 5 more minutes, she'll take care of it. Yesterday was long for her.

But wait. Did this alarm sound a bit differently? Why is it more of a higher pitch, but not signaling an intruder alert?

Hattie then felt Rumbi bonk into her leg constantly and rapidly. They seemed extremely worried. Hattie moaned, then rubbed her eyes. She then picked up Rumbi and said, "Careful, buddy. You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep doing that. Now what's–"

"**Warning! Warning! Unstable Time Rift detected!**"

_Unstable_?

Hattie was wide awake now. How long has she been asleep? Was this time rift up for a long time? Did she miss one back when she went on the Arctic Cruise?

Frantic questions ran through her mind as she scrambled to her feet and to the computer. She didn't even bother saying, "Boop" when she pushed the button to check. Her heart dropped in horror as her screen displayed the problem.

A purple time rift currently collapsing in Mafia Town. The screen was flashing red, emphasizing the urgent matter that is happening. But even without it, Hattie would know that this was bad. _Really_ bad!

A purple time rift itself is unstable enough. If it collapses, it could warp all time itself and rip the very fabric of it! Cod knows what would happen if it did.

Hattie had literally no time to waste. She dashed to her room, not even noticing that Snatcher was gone for a change. She grabbed her clothes and changed as she ran through the hallway, disregarding her pajamas. She'll pick those up and toss them in the laundry later.

Slipping on her boots as she exited the hallway, she ran to the hatch. But she was stopped when she heard Rumbi beep urgently. She glanced back to let them know that it was going to be okay when she noticed that they were trying to get her attention.

Rumbi was brushing the corner of a sheet of paper. She ran back to see what it was. Picking it up and taking only a quick glance, she only assumed it was a contract. The paper looked worn like one and it had some purple formal writing with Snatcher's stamp on it.

However, she had no time to deal with a contract. Now, she needed to keep Earth and everyone around it from disappearing along with possibly time itself. She just shoved the contract in her top hat and dashed back to the hatch. With a quick goodbye to Rumbi, she dove down to Mafia Town.

Oddly, this purple rift was in the same place as the one she found in Mafia Town before: at the beach. Though, this one was glitching and had a couple black pixels around it.

Hattie cautiously placed her hand on it and was transported within the rift. Immediately, she squinted. The area around her was disorienting. All sorts of colors and rippling surrounded the environment. Yet despite its appearance, this rift faintly looked exactly like the Mafia one. Piles of fish, gray platforms and warehouses. The only main difference aside the ripples and colors was there was no Mafioso to greet her and explain the rift.

Either way, she had no time to dwell on such thoughts for now. The rift was collapsing and she needed to seal it before it affects reality. She already knew this rift's history, if it truly is the same one, and she did not spot any golden pages. So she wasted no time jumping into the hatch to the next area.

If she had to estimate how much time this rift had, it would be around two minutes until this rift would collapse. As if to confirm her answer, she heard beeping coming from her pocket. She pulled out the source and saw that it was a sort of stopwatch watch. When did she get this?

"**Two minutes and zero seconds until Rift Collapse. Oh no.**"

That familiar feminine voice from the bomb timers rang through the collapsing rift. Hattie's eyes were wide. She really did have two minutes to get through this entire rift and seal it. Quickly looking over the stopwatch, she saw Snatcher's familiar golden eyes and grin printed on the backside of it. Did Snatcher give her this while she was asleep? Did he know this was going to happen? What if he was the cause of this collapsing rift?

No, no delaying thoughts and questions! She quickly equipped her Sprint hat and frantically ran around, looking for Rift Pons so she could progress. Once she grabbed enough for the hatch, along with a couple extra, she dove into the next hatch.

The second area was now at the docks. The next Rift Pons were being held by a few angry Mafioso. She groaned, having no time for this.

"_Wait a minute...time…_" That's when an idea came to her mind. She quickly switched to her Time Stop Hat and pressed the clock button, quietly praying that this won't make the rift collapse more quickly.

Thankfully, time slowed down as she hoped it would. With a confident smile, she dashed up to the Mafioso holding the Rift Pons and attacked rapidly. They had no chance. Once knocked down, she quickly grabbed the pons right after the Time Stop hat's effects wore off. With enough pons to progress, she dove into the next hatch.

"**One minute and twenty seconds until Rift Collapse. Better hurry.**"

The next area was the ship with the dancing Mafioso. She quickly recalled from memory that this hatch was open with no Rift Pons needed. She wasted no time diving into that hatch.

Now for the area with the Mafioso running on giant rolling meat. Was it Hattie or were they rolling faster? No, she couldn't question it. She probably only had a minute left now! She grabbed all the pons she could and dashed for the next hatch by running on the banner tightrope to the next plaza area.

Wait, there were two new Rift Pons in that area. Quietly questioning this, she grabbed them. She then ran up the stairs and jumped into the next hatch. Little did she know, behind her, the Mafioso that were running on the meat were glitching and disappearing.

"**40 seconds until Rift Collapse. We're doomed.**"

Beach area. This should be the last one until she got to the rift and possible Time Piece. Dodging the cans being thrown by a few angry Mafioso, she grabbed the Rift Pons and unlocked the hatch. But then, she heard screaming behind her.

Looking back, she then saw the area around her begin to crumble and vanish. The angry Mafioso were the source of the screaming as they fell to their doom. With a scream, Hattie jumped into the hatch to escape before she fell into the abyss.

"**10 seconds until Rift Collapse.**"

Hattie's heart was pounding. The rift was right there! She frantically began trying to smash it.

"**Nine.**"

Another whack with the umbrella.

"**Eight.**"

Why did it jump so far from her with that whack?!

"**Seven.**"

The area rippled more. Hattie could swear she was faintly seeing a dark void appearing.

"**Six.**"

Another whack.

"**Five.**"

The final whack with her umbrella. The rift exploded, revealing...a Deathwish Time Piece? How did that get here?!

"**Four.**"

Hattie sharply gasped as she glanced around, eyes wide with terror.

"**Three.**"

The platform was vanishing, from the outer rim to the inside.

"**Two.**"

Hattie dove for the Deathwish Time Piece, grabbing it.

"**One.**"

Hattie screamed as the platform was about to vanish under her feet.

"**Goodbye.**"

With a flash of light, she vanished from the rift, just a millisecond before it collapsed. She was then shot out back on the beach. Sitting up from the sand, she looked up at the glitching purple time rift.

It rose up, glitching more violently until it began to settle and seal itself, disappearing. All reality remained the same and the rift was gone. Everything is stable. Everyone is alive.

Hattie let out a breath she did not realize she was holding and collapsed on her back, letting a couple tears go down her cheeks. Her top hat also tumbled off her head as she did this.

That was closest Hattie has faced death by far. Near death experiences are officially terrifying. Never again. And if there is ever a Time Rift that has appeared, no matter how stable it seems, she's sealing it _immediately_. Going through a collapsing rift was dangerous enough with all the distortion.

She looked down at the Deathwish Time Piece. She didn't even realize she was hugging it close like it was a lifeline. Was it this Time Piece that got her out of the rift or the one she had in her pocket? At the moment, Hattie didn't care. All that mattered was the rift was sealed and time can continue as it should.

A small breeze then brushed past her and she spotted her new Deathwish contract peeking out of her top hat. That's right. Snatcher gave her a new one and she didn't even bother looking it over. Carefully setting the Deathwish Time Piece aside, she grabbed the rolled-up contract and read it over.

An angry expression then appeared on her face. Turns out the collapsing rift she just dealt with _was_ the Deathwish. But she wasn't angry because of that; she was angry because if this was true, Snatcher set up this rift and basically put practically the entire _universe_'s life on the line.

She stood up, brushing the sand off her and pocketing the Deathwish Time Piece and contract. She then pulled out her Time Piece and flew back up to her ship.

She needed to have a word with Snatcher.

* * *

"_**You're absolutely insane!**_"

"_She made it through, didn't she? I thought you had faith in her._" Moonjumper looked dismissive by Snatcher's bold statement. Actually, he seemed almost a little disappointed that the rift didn't finish her off.

"_**I have faith in the kid, but not enough to open up whatever that was and risk our **_**world **_**falling apart!**_" Snatcher, on the other hand, was practically freaking out. He wasn't sure what those weird swirling orbs were, but they were clearly trouble when he saw the results of the collapsing one.

When the kid jumped into the rift to seal it, all of reality was glitching and becoming distorted itself in the process. He swore he felt himself fall apart and piece back together again. The world around them was glitching violently too. It was like old gaming graphics glitching. It would lose its color at one point. It was look blurry and pixelated the next.

"_**Are you really that willing to let the world get destroyed just to take out some kid?**_" Moonjumper frowned. He will admit to himself that those rifts had a far more powerful effect on reality than anticipated. But with his strings, surely he could have sealed it himself once the child fell into the void. If not, surely he would have the Time Pieces on hand to fix it. ...Right?

"_I could have repaired it. After all, I would have the Time Pieces in my possession once the child was out of the picture._" A dark smile then showed as he hovered in front of the restrained Snatcher. The strings tightened around Snatcher's form a little, making him struggle.

"_Also, you and I both know that she is not just 'some child.' There is more potential in that girl that I previously expected, I admit. But she did come close to death. I'm sure we'll get lucky with the next coming contracts._"

He then silenced himself when he faintly heard the hallway doors make the wooshing sound as they opened. Speaking of said child, she was coming now. He quickly faded back within Snatcher, taking control once more.

Previously, they were in Mafia Town to watch and see if Hattie could get through the rift. Moonjumper, and Snatcher in result, showed an irritated frown for a moment. Oh he could still faintly recall that smug grin Snatcher showed when Hattie made it out with barely a second to spare. The thought of it made the red strings around Snatcher tighten a little.

That's when Hattie entered the room and "Snatcher" put on his usual wide grin, looking down at the kid. Wow, she looked mad.

Hattie stormed up to Snatcher, holding the Deathwish Time Piece in one hand and the contract in the other. Snatcher simply stated, "Hey there, kiddo! Hope that contract was a good wake-up call to your day!"

Her only response was shoving the Deathwish Time Piece into his talons and opening up the contract to show its completion. The title was, "Rift Collapse: Mafia of Cooks." Her main mission was to seal the rift before it collapsed. She didn't get the one bonus where she had to make it through with only 30 seconds to spare, but at the moment, she could care less.

"I want explanations. What made you think _this_ was a good idea?! Do you have any idea how dangerous an unstable time rift is?"

Snatcher's smile remained, but his eyes narrowed. "I'm not fond of your attitude, kid. If you're gonna ask me something, then maybe–"

"The whole world could've been destroyed! Maybe even time itself! How did you even manage to let this happen?"

Snatcher sighed. The kid wasn't going to listen, so he may as well give her what she asked. He took the contract and explained, "Well, I recall seeing those weird swirling orbs that you've jumped into every now and then. That's when I found this book and got to know more about it." He then held up her Time Piece Manual.

Truth be told, Moonjumper did see Hattie enter those orbs long ago and pondered what they were about. Though, by the looks of it, he needed those Time Pieces to exit it. He couldn't just jump into one without one. Now possessing Snatcher and able to infiltrate the child's ship, he looked around and did some research. The manual he was now holding was a great source of information about his main objective.

Snatcher continued, "A thought then crossed my mind after knowing all this. Those rifts surely had to be challenging, so why don't I offer a similar challenge as well?"

He then held up the Deathwish Time Piece and stated, "After all, these may not be the Time Pieces you're used to, but they're still Time Pieces. Problem is that since it's mainly made of dark magic, it can only make unstable purple rifts."

Hattie was frowning, but the explanation did clear up some questions. She thought it over for a solid minute. She almost questioned why the rift looked almost exactly like the one purple time rift she ventured through before, but she came up with the answer herself.

From what she has learned, a purple time rift is like opening up a slightly unstable glimpse of the past, mainly because it fell on someone's head or it had a special influence in a certain region. And surely there is more than just one entry to said area than through only one rift. There are multiple blue time rifts, but they open up in a similar area. Different obstacles, yes, but the same underwater-themed place.

She then shook her head. The explanation helped, but it still didn't get rid of the worrying thought that came. She looked up to Snatcher and said, "But were you really willing to risk the forest just to do that? Your minions too?"

The smile disappeared as Snatcher's eyes went wide. He twitched violently and clutched his head, his talons retracting and appearing rapidly as they clawed his head.

Hattie's eyes were practically wide with terror. She took a step back, a little fearful of what he was going to do. Snatcher managed to look to Hattie with a distressed expression.

"M-minions...f-forest…" was all he was able to utter until he twitched and appeared infuriated. He shot a death glare to Hattie, making her step back once more. For the first time since her fight with Snatcher, she truly felt afraid. Afraid of _him_.

He growled under his breath and turned away. "They would've been fine. Even if you didn't make it, I would've sealed it myself."

He then grabbed the "How to Kill Kids" book he set to the side and opened it. "Now go away, kid. You bother me."

Hattie took a few more steps back, looking hesitant. "...No more contracts?"

Snatcher growled a little under his breath, making Hattie feel nervous. But to her relief, instead of lashing out or yelling, he said, "Not for now. Go get breakfast or something, then come back to me."

Hattie stepped back more until she was at the base of her pillow pile. She continued hesitating as she made her way to the door. Until with one final glance back to Snatcher, she exited and headed to her kitchen.

Moonjumper already had a couple more contracts planned out, but Hattie needed to leave so he could have a _chat_ with his little puppet. Phasing out and turning to the tied up Snatcher, he showed a disappointed expression.

Snatcher, on the other hand, was practically enraged as he struggled in the strings. "_**Release me NOW, Moonbrat!**_"

"_I'm afraid I can't do that, my dear puppet. If this is about the forest and minions, I can assure you they're okay for the moment._"

"_**You put them in danger, you string-weaving peck neck! When I get free, you're going to PAY!**_"

"_Such language. And here I thought you were better than that Conductor fellow. But I am more disappointed by the fact that you almost broke free once more. I had faith you were going to be a more cooperating puppet...but I suppose punishment is in order._"

Before Snatcher could question what he meant, Moonjumper had a crazed smile show as he clenched one of his fists. Reacting to his magic, the blue strings around Snatcher's wrists tightened. The magic and the tightness of the strings caused Snatcher to start screaming.

The pain...it was unbearable. The sensation was burning, digging into his incorporeal form as the strings continued tightening on his wrists. Thankfully, it did not last long. Snatcher felt physically weak and his wrists felt like they were on fire.

Emotionally, Snatcher felt enraged. He hated that Moonjumper was getting away with this. He hated how he couldn't do anything to stop this insane spirit. He hated feeling weak.

But he knew he couldn't lash out unless he wanted a repeat of that torture. Panting, he kept his head low. He swore he could still see Moonjumper's smug grin though.

Moonjumper sighed, satisfied. "_Now I hope you understand your place. And since I'm in a good mood, I'll grant the hatted child one of those rewards I promised. After all, I'm not one to break a promise._"

* * *

Hattie frowned as she grabbed the toast from the toaster. Putting butter on it, she began thinking over what she witnessed. Snatcher just went berserk and turned dismissive. He got really emotional the moment she mentioned his forest. Was he even in his right mindset?

Sitting down and munching on the toast, she continued thinking. If Snatcher truly wasn't acting like himself, what was the cause of it? Thinking back to the storybook she got from Subcon Forest's purple rift, she tried to compare Snatcher to Vanessa. Could some sort of dark magic shifted his attitude like that?

Then again, that would've happened long ago. It probably did happen, actually. If Hattie had to assume what Snatcher was like when he was the prince, she would say he was a sweet, charming one. Almost hard to believe since he consumes souls for an after-life living and says stuff like, "Smell ya later." But Vanessa seemed nice before her heart was broken. Hattie could only assume though.

"So why is he being so weird…?" Hattie finished her toast and wiped the crumbs off her cheeks with her sleeve. Maybe she could question him. She should be careful with her wording though.

With a firm nod, she headed out of the kitchen and back to her room. She looked up to his usual spot and saw him the same way she left him: reading a book. The air felt less tense though. Perhaps he finally calmed down.

He then looked up from the book and showed that wide grin she was unfortunately familiar with. Though, did it seem more friendly than forced?

"Hey, kiddo! Ready for another contract?"

Hattie frowned and only replied, "I guess so...but I did want to ask–"

"Oh, before we get started, I got a little gift for ya! All for doing such a good job repairing the rift." Hattie tilted her head in confusion. A gift? When did Snatcher ever give gifts? Not that she was complaining.

She carefully approached, making sure she had her umbrella ready in case it was something dangerous. Once she was close, he then said, "Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Well, that's comforting. But she was nervous, unsure what he would do if she disobeyed. So she squinted her eyes shut and held her hands out. Her hands were shaking a little, nervous he was going to put something sharp or worse in her hands.

But to her surprise, what he placed on her hand felt soft and smooth. Like silk. "Alright, open them up, kiddo."

Hattie opened her eyes cautiously, then gasped at what she saw. A yellow ribbon tied into a big bow. Was this a new accessory?

"Saw your wardrobe was so empty. Figured I'd help you fill some space by giving you this Sprint Hat flair. I did promise rewards if you completed some contracts."

Hattie was a little shocked. Not long ago, he was shoving her and forcing her to do contracts that will risk her soul. Now, he was acting nice and giving her nice things. She looked up to him, wondering if his expression would show if it was a trick or not.

He was smiling, but it seemed warm and genuine, unlike that wide creepy grin he had not long ago. Hattie couldn't help it; she began to smile too. Maybe Snatcher was just having a bad day yesterday and going through some mood swings. Heck if she knew for sure.

She took off her top hat and tied the bow around her ponytail band. With a warm smile, she said, "Thank you!" She then hugged Snatcher's arm. He seemed to flinch and pause as she did so.

Moonjumper was a little surprised by the sudden warm gesture. It felt...nice. He almost hugged her back, but then snapped back to his normal senses. No, he was meant to kill the kid. He can't get attached.

Snatcher roughly shoved her off, saying, "Yeah yeah, just don't say I never gave you anything, kiddo. Now, back to the old grindstone!" He then handed her the next contract.

She quietly took the contract and opened it up. "Collect-a-thon. Simply collect 100 pons." Wait, that's it? Just collect some pons? She looked up to Snatcher, wondering what the catch was.

Snatcher smirked as he said, "What's with that look? All you gotta do is keep collecting pons. Just keep an eye out for boxes, barrels, bullies, and other things that you can crack open to get a lot at once!"

One of the bonuses did read, however, that she can't break any boxes or barrels. She shrugged though. This didn't seem difficult at all. But she did have one question.

"How could I lose my soul by doing this?"

That's when Snatcher's wide smile became a little more sinister-looking. "Well, your limit is 300. If you go over that and still not get me enough pons, then your soul will be the only thing to pay off that debt."

How could she collect 300 if she only needed 100? Noting her confused expression, Snatcher booped her nose and said, "You'll find out soon enough. Now get to it, trooper!"

Hattie rubbed her nose and quietly nodded, exiting the room. Guess she will find out once she heads to Mafia Town.


	7. Nothing Is Impossible

Hattie was already dashing down the alleyways and collecting pons lying around. It was pretty easy currency to get. She almost questioned the challenging part of this challenge.

She got up to around 30 pons and smiled, feeling confident. But her smile soon vanished when she patted her pockets. Wait, did they feel lighter than she expected?

She shrugged and continued collecting. But if one was watching her, they would notice her shadow looked a little odd. As she ran around, it would pop out of the ground and take a pon out of her pocket every 3-4 seconds, then phase back into the ground.

Hattie was quietly counting to herself. She should have around 60 now. Why did her pockets feel so light though? Did she have a hole in them? As she checked, she saw a shadow engulfed hand take a pon out of her pocket.

"Wha?!" She turned to where it came from, but there was nothing there. Then, she felt another pon leave her pocket from behind her. She turned around once more. Nothing. She was questioning what was happening until she heard a dark chuckle and a familiar voice say, "I hope you're planning to claim these pons on your taxes."

That cheating shadow! He's pickpocketing her and making her lose her progress! Seems like it's time to step up her game if she is to complete this faster.

She quickly looked around and spotted a couple Mafioso bullying an elderly man near the docks. She usually gets rewarded for beating up those bullies. Perfect!

She dove down to those two bullies and jumped on their heads. With a few quick smacks from her umbrella, they were knocked unconscious. She got a couple pons from them too. The elderly man thanked her and gave her around 11 pons. That was a big boost!

She continued running around, gathering more pons. She was tempted to break a crate or two, but she was already around 63. Surely she can still do it without doing so.

She ran along tightropes, up a wall, and jumped from patio parasoul to patio parasoul, grabbing as many as she could. She then spotted a capsule filled with pons around the plaza where she rescued Mu from the Mafia, standing on those TNT barrels. She wasted no time popping open the capsule and grabbing all the pons.

That was just enough to complete her task. Once she grabbed the last pon she needed, her shadow appeared in front of her and held out a Deathwish Time Piece. Slightly surprised, she took it. The shadow then disappeared, but not before Hattie spotted a pair of yellow eyes appear, showing an annoyed expression. She smirked, feeling a little proud to have bested Snatcher once again.

She glanced back at her feet, seeing her true shadow where it's meant to be. Seems Snatcher pretended to play as her shadow with his shape-shifting ghost abilities. That explains how he was able to pickpocket her without her seeing.

"Snatcher never usually cheats like this though…" From all the contracts she had with him, they were usually fair and square. Find the village, defeat the gross toilet, deliver mail to ten of his minions, get the Time Piece from Vanessa's manor. In all of them, they were as the terms and conditions applied. Snatcher even helped her on the mail delivery one.

Opening up the contract she just completed, she looked it over. She then noticed a small smudged away part under the title. Using her cape, she wiped away the smudge and gasped. It stated that her progress would drain over time. How did she miss that? She could've been more prepared!

It's not like Snatcher to be so careless on his contract's conditions. She pulled out her BFF contract and compared the two. Her BFF one may have her handwriting, but it obviously was different than his normal contract fonts. His were usually detailed and left out no important condition. Its paper was clean and the writing was formal.

But for the latest contracts, the writing seemed a bit rushed and there was not enough detail to go off of. Just a couple bonus conditions that aren't even mandatory for her objective, which was brief. And if he kept his contracts in mint condition, how did that smudge get on one important condition? Could it have been on purpose?

Hattie hummed, definitely sensing something fishy. And she wasn't just saying that because she was standing near a barrel of fish. No, her suspicions of Snatcher were continuously growing. But she still can't know for sure what is wrong with him exactly.

For now, she decided to keep her head low and play along. If she is to find clear answers, patience and cooperation are important. Nodding, she put both contracts back into her hat and used her true Time Piece to get back to her ship. She also took note of the storm clouds beginning to form. It might rain today.

* * *

"_Perhaps I'm being a bit too easy on her._" Moonjumper kept a hand under his chin as he was thinking over his next move. That child was clearing those contracts a bit faster than he can come up with them. He already sent her on her next one, which was fetching some vault codes that were blowing in the incoming storm's wind. Even with those circumstances, she was doing fairly well in the challenge.

"_**You've clearly underestimated her, Moonboy. That kiddo's tougher than she looks.**_" Moonjumper's expression turned sour. He didn't need to look at his captive puppet to see that smug grin.

"_I'm willing to continue playing this game as long as it takes, my puppet. I still have a strong hold on you and these challenges do not have to be limited to Mafia Town alone._" Still, he would need to up his game a little. Looking back on the completed contracts the hatted child gave him, he looked over his mistakes.

His red eyes then widen as he looked over the "Back From Outer Space" contract. He recalled that being challenging for her. But perhaps not challenging enough. A dark smile grew as he chuckled under his breath.

"_Perhaps a modification is needed for this task._"

* * *

Hattie entered her room, her hair slightly messy and tangled from the wind. Getting those vault codes was a little harder than it should have normally been, especially with the fact that she had to fight 10 Mafioso _and_ not use her Time Stop Hat to give her more than 30 seconds to grab each ticket. Guess that was the purpose of the challenge. Thankfully, her new ribbon gave her a bit more speed in grabbing them and that laser badge she thought she wasted her pons on came in use.

"Wow, kiddo. Your hair looks like an angry bird's nest." Hattie pouted, clearly not amused by his joke. She held out the complete contract and Deathwish Time Piece she got from the vault.

"Am I even close to done?"

"Not even halfway, kiddo." A smirk was showing as he handed her the next contract. She huffed and took it, reading it over. Her pout slowly faded as her eyes widened with shock and disbelief.

"You're not serious about me doing this…"

"What's the matter, kiddo? I figured you would've liked this one, given it's one that you've done before that is similar."

She took a second look over the contract. The title was, "She Speedrun from Outer Space With Mafia Jumps." She needed to get a Deathwish Time Piece from that Scientist Mafioso again, but in less than one minute and 50 seconds _and_ in less than 15 jumps?! There's no way this is fair!

"But...this one's impossible! How can I go across obstacles that are in the air in less than 15 jumps and do it in less than two minutes?!"

"I dunno, kiddo. I'm waiting to see if it is possible. And if not, oh well. Guess I get a soul out of it." He cannot be serious.

"**Unless you just want to give up and give me your soul**." Hattie's eyes widen. Oh, he _is _serious.

"No way!" She wasn't giving up that easy. She'll keep refusing to die, proving that Snatcher still can't take her down no matter what he throws at her.

"Then get to it, kid!" Hattie pouted and stormed out of her room.

Soon as she was gone, Moonjumper darkly chuckled and showed himself. "_This should be fun to watch. Come, my puppet._"

Snatcher frowned, now concerned. Under different circumstances, he would've called this a dinner and a show. Some poor schmuck could've done this unfair contract and he would get a soul to consume out of it after watching them fail. But what was worrying him was not the fact that this contract contradicts his own fair terms.

It was the fact that "the poor schmuck" enduring this contract was the kid.

Soon as Hattie landed at the observatory, the timer started. She had to mentally remind herself to not jump more than 15 times as she gets through this. She had to waste no time.

She immediately face-planted in the mud, which came from the rain that was currently pouring down, and went up to the Scientist Mafioso, who was holding a Deathwish Time Piece in confusion. He mumbled to himself, "Where have Mafia seen this before…?"

He then took one look at Hattie and let out a shriek. "AHH! The slimy space alien is back!" He immediately took off running. Hattie jumped and dashed over to the other platform. That's already one jump used up.

The Mafioso screamed once more and climbed on the stack of boxes. This gave Hattie a moment of deja-vu. But no time to reflect on the past! She tried to cheat and jump up to the higher platform, costing her one jump. Unfortunately, that caused her to fall down. She huffed and costed 3 jumps to just get up onto the platform, then another for her to get to the Mafioso. That's 6 jumps already used. She's not even halfway through this challenge.

The Mafioso then yelped, dashing onto the Mafia banner. Hattie managed to dive from the platform she was at to get to him without using a jump. But now, the real struggle. He then went up the wall to the next few hanging platforms and to the last platform, leading to a dead end.

Hattie tried to be conservative with her jumps. Oh how she tried. But after taking another glance at the timer, showing she had less than 30 seconds to get to the Mafioso and grab the Time Piece, she panicked and overused her jumps, trying to do it how she did it before.

Soon as she hit her 15 jump mark, she was grabbed by her cape while she was in the air. He must've had a good grip if the mud wasn't even making it hard for him. "Whoops! Sorry, kiddo. You're out of jumps."

Hattie's face went pale. She lost…? No, this wasn't fair! He made it unfair! How was she supposed to do it in such a short time and practically without jumping?

Snatcher held Hattie up to his face as he showed a dark, sinister grin. A dark chuckle escaped as he watched her wiggle, trying to get loose from his grip on her cape. "Now, I believe you owe me one soul."

Hattie looked up at Snatcher, showing a nervous smile. "W-well, will I get it back when I eventually complete this…?"

Snatcher looked up, pretending to be in thought. "Mmmmmm no. Sorry, kid." Purple lightning then formed in his free hand as it hovered dangerously close to Hattie's chest.

"**But we all gotta eat sometime.**" Hattie whimpered, eyes wide with fear. Was this really it for her?

"_**NO!**_" Snatcher, from within the subconscious, started to fight for control again. He reared his free hand back, trying to have the lightning disappear. Moon fought with him, trying to push his hand forward.

To Hattie, Snatcher looked like he was struggling as his whole arm was trembling. He was twitching more as well. The purple lightning soon vanished as his arm pulled away from her, much to her relief.

The relief was short-lived though as his hand tried to lunge at her once more. She let out a scream as he slashed his talons, tearing open her raincoat. Thankfully, he didn't scratch _her_.

But then, he literally threw her away from him, gripping his head. Seems he managed to regain enough control to get Hattie away from him.

She screamed as she fell from the high height and towards the ocean. She quickly adjusted herself and fell in, feet first. She kept her legs straight and firm as she broke through the surface of the ocean. It stung her feet, but at least nothing was broken. All the mud was washed away as well.

She quickly surfaced, gasping for air. She was right by the docking area where the ship was and where she saved another elder man from some bullying Mafioso. She quickly looked back up to see if Snatcher was going to come back down to finish the job. To her relief, he wasn't. But now she was anxious because he was gone. He could pop up at any second to get her soul.

She swam to shore, climbing up onto the rocks, panting. She then climbed up to the stone path and ran. She searched for shelter from the rain and a place to hide in case Snatcher comes looking for her. She can't go back to the ship for now. He might look for her there.

She then found herself in the alleyway, near the spot where she first fell to Earth. She dashed to the right, where there was the sheltered section filled with empty barrels. This was where she had her talk with Mu.

She shivered, cold from the rain and ocean water. Her raincoat was ruined and she was soaking wet. She sat down against the back wall, hugging herself and tucking her legs up. A couple tears showed in her eyes as she finally began processing all that has happened.

Her BFF signed her up for a nearly impossible contract and almost stole her soul. Now she is hiding from her said BFF, freezing cold.

...What was she supposed to do now?

"Hat child?" Hattie gasped as she looked up. She was relieved to see it wasn't an angry Snatcher, but surprised to see who it was.

"B...Badge S-S-Seller…?"

He was wet from the rain as well, but his focus was set on Hattie. He walked in and knelt down in front of her. "What are you doing here at this hour in this weather?"

Hattie sniffled, her nose now running a little. "I-I…"

Badge Seller then set down his satchel and said, "Wait here. And do try not to take any of my badges without paying." Hattie couldn't see because of the mask, but something tells her that he smirked while stating that. She managed a tiny broken chuckle as he then left her.

It did not take long for him to return with a few small logs. He knelt down in front of Hattie and set them up like a campfire. He dug through his satchel and pulled out a sort of flint. He lit the logs on fire, creating a small campfire. Hattie immediately sat up and propped her hands out, warming herself up.

Badge Seller sat across from the campfire, in front of Hattie. "I recall a certain child warning me to not stay in the rain for too long if I do not wish to get sick. Now I find said child in risk of doing the same."

Hattie managed a tiny sheepish smile, then looked down, smile fading. Badge Seller continued, "Now that you are getting warmed up, young one, will you answer my previous question?"

Hattie sighed, lowering her hands. She then dug through her top hat and pulled out the contract she failed. Handing it to him, she said, "Snatcher's been making me do these challenges, trying to get my soul. And I didn't finish this one."

Badge Seller took the contract and looked it over as Hattie continued talking. "But it wasn't fair! Usually Snatcher has a small challenge in his contracts, like I would just need to do some errands or something. But now he's suddenly giving me these weird dangerous challenges. I know he told me they were hard, but this one's impossible."

Badge Seller gave her the contract back and replied, "Not impossible...but indeed unfair. This task is decisively made to make you lose." Hattie's eyes were wide with mild shock. So it wasn't just her thinking this?

"But why? Why would he want to do this? He never makes his contracts unfair like that."

"I can only tell so much from what I know, but I can tell you this: you are correct about the ghost not acting like himself."

Hattie looked up at Badge Seller, putting away the contract. "I _knew_ something was off about him! ...But I just couldn't figure out what. If he's not acting like himself, what made him like this?"

"I, again, cannot tell more than that. If I were to, with his current power, he will not hesitate to steal your soul when he figures out you know more than you should." Hattie's hand found itself gripping through one of the claw-marked holes and onto the fabric of her purple dress, near where her heart was.

She then looked down in thought, processing all this and trying to figure out answers. From what she has learned, it's not just her that believes Snatcher isn't himself. The twitching, the evil smiling, and the contracts. Not to mention how eager he seemed to take her soul. Thinking back, he wasn't even like this when they first met. Sure, he was scary and he did take her soul, but he only asked her to do some contracts that weren't too difficult or even close to impossible. She even enjoyed a couple of them. He may have also fought her instead of just letting her go at the start, but he did let her go once she showed how strong she was against him.

Then after all that, he always got annoyed whenever she came, but she could quietly tell that he did care. Surely he would have. If he didn't, then why would he help her on the Arctic Cruise? Why would he just let her come to the forest so easily? Surely with all the magic he has, he could make his own magical barriers to keep her out.

If he did care, what made him change?

She then sharply gasped, getting an idea. "Those purple Time Pieces…they're like Time Pieces, but they're made of dark magic. They've gotta be more corrupting than the actual Time Pieces. Maybe that's what changed him!"

Badge Seller then questioned, "Purple Time Pieces?"

"Oh, they're these ones Snatcher made himself. They're like my…'end goal' items? I don't have one on me now but…" She pulled out her own Time Piece and showed it to the Badge Seller. "They look just like these, but with purple sand instead and a sort of...darker feeling to them."

"That may be the case then. If the normal ones can corrupt a person, then a darker one would worsen the corruption, wouldn't it?" Hattie put the Time Piece back in her pocket.

Why didn't she assume this sooner? With Snatcher's strange attitude and those weird dark magic Time Pieces, this whole scenario just screams "Time Piece Corruption." The Conductor and Mu fell under a similar case, but that was with regular Time Pieces. ...Who knows what Snatcher will be capable of with loads of _corrupted_ ones?

Truth be told, the Badge Seller, being the prophetic figure of this realm, knew much more about Snatcher's case. It is true that those Deathwish Time Pieces are a major factor in Snatcher's sudden shift in character, but he is aware of the true dark presence possessing him. But as he informed Hat Kid, he cannot tell her.

If she were to know while Moonjumper possesses one of the strongest beings on Earth _and_ multiple corrupting time-altering mechanisms, the Badge Seller knew she would try to stop him immediately. If she tries, she will fail at her current status. If she fails, then all hope in saving Snatcher, Earth, and perhaps time itself will be lost. Hat Kid is strong, but not strong enough to face him.

Hattie then stood up. "I gotta find Snatcher and snap him out of it."

"No. If he holds that many corrupting Time Pieces, you do not stand much of a chance against him."

"He's my BFF though! I gotta help him. Besides, I stopped Mu when she had all my Time Pieces. What will be different this time?"

"Perhaps you have forgotten that he wields more magic than the red-hooded child and has far more _corrupted_ Time Pieces than however many you possess. You must pause and think clearly. At his current strength, you will lose your soul if you challenge him."

Hattie did actually pause and look down in thought. As much as she hated to admit, Snatcher truly is a real challenge at his current state. She doubted that he would even let her use her hats to fight him off too, given that he didn't when they first fought.

"...Then...what am I supposed to do to help him?"

"Patience will have to be the key. You must think; if you are trying to save him from corruption…"

He allowed her to think and finish the thought. It took a moment, but she then snapped her fingers. "Then I gotta keep doing those challenges! I get one of those Deathwish Time Pieces and he just makes them disappear whenever I get one. He also said that he has all sorts of challenges set for me. If I finish them all, then he's gotta give up and let me help him."

She looked to Badge Seller with a confident smile. "Thanks, Badge Seller."

He then stood and said, "Do not thank me just yet. I have one more thing that will aid you in accomplishing your current contract."

As he began digging through his satchel, Hattie's confident smile faded as she said, "Wait...do I really have to do that one again?"

"As I stated, young one: unfair, but not impossible. Especially with this." He then held up a new badge for her. "This is the Fast Hatter badge. With it, your cooldown time for certain hats will decrease, allowing you to use your hats' abilities much faster than before."

Hattie's eyes widen with mild awe. This could be really helpful! She then blinked, realizing why he was granting her this badge. He was practically referring to the one hat she could've used to get through the challenge without worrying about the time.

She facepalmed. "I should've used the Time Stop Hat…"

"It is not too late to give it another try. With this, it will be a little easier for you as well." Hattie lowered her hand and looked up at Badge Seller.

"And how much is it?"

"250 pons."

Well, it's cheaper than the scooter badge. And after taking a lot of time to collect pons before the whole Deathwish ordeal, she had plenty to spare. She handed him the requested amount of pons and he gave her the badge. She took off her magnet badge to equip it. She can survive not getting every single pon along her obstacle course.

"A couple small tips as well: you could skip the wall climbing part if you take a leap towards one of the hanging platforms. On top of that, your ice hat can allow you to be a few inches in the air when activated before hitting the ground, allowing you to dash to a platform without jumping."

Hattie's eyes widened. These tips could've saved her the first time she did this. It made her really wish she knew these tips sooner. Nonetheless, she showed a warm appreciative smile to the Badge Seller.

With a quick "thank you," she opened her umbrella and ran back to the observatory to start over her task. The Badge Seller watched her leave with a new spark of confidence in her appearance.

"Good luck, Hat Kid."

* * *

"_I finally had her in our grasp and you threw away the chance of earning a free soul and your possible freedom?_" Moonjumper was searching all around the area for the hatted child. How could he have lost sight of her so easily? Couldn't he at least see her drowned corpse or something?

"_**Like hell I was going to let you hurt the kid!**_" If Moonjumper wasn't so caught up in his frustrated emotions, he probably would've used Snatcher's magic to sense Hattie's soul or aura amongst the sea of gruff Mafioso souls. He was quietly thankful he wasn't though. He threw the kid away from him for a reason. Surely she would've survived the fall. He aimed for the ocean to make it a bit easier for her in case she couldn't pull out her umbrella on time.

Just before Moonjumper could argue with Snatcher once more, he glanced back to the observatory. He then spotted something that made him turn around completely and lock his vision on it.

A sort of mud-coated monster rushing back up the obstacle course, but using an ice hat to give it a bit of a boost and save a couple jumps.

Moonjumper's dark smile returned, showing itself through Snatcher as he remained possessing him. "_Seems she came back to try again. Why don't we go say hello?_"

Snatcher, within his subconscious, watched the kid with a worrisome expression. He even managed to say under his breath, "_**Kid...why did you come back?**_" She could've hidden away or warned somebody about what happened to her and/or what was happening to him. She could've gotten help. She could've gotten to safety.

But instead, she came back.

She refused to give up.

Once she got to the banner, she used her Time Stop Hat to slow down time and look around for the shortcut the Badge Seller hinted. Looking to the hanging platform, she realized that even though it may cost her 2 jumps to make it along with a dash, she could save at least 3 jumps by taking the leap.

Once her Time Stop Hat turned off and began to cool down, she clapped her hands together and took the leap. Two jumps in the air and a quick dash. She managed to grab the ledge and pull herself up.

Running along the ledge, she dashed without needing to jump to the final platform, where the Scientist Mafioso was.

At first, when Hattie didn't show up for a short while, he assumed that she lost him, allowing him to examine the strange purple hourglass. But now, when she did land in front of him, he let out a scream and scrambled back.

"Please don't hurt me, you monster! H-here, do you want this? Will you go away if you take it?" He held out the Deathwish Time Piece in his trembling hands. Hattie took it, ending her timer at around a minute and 10 seconds. That leap saved her a lot of time just as it saved her quite a few jumps.

"Yes, thank you!" She then jumped back down to the ocean, using her umbrella for a safer splashdown. She had a bright smile on the way down as well. Seems the Badge Seller was right; the contract was unfair, but not as impossible as she first thought.

Moonjumper was gobsmacked. The child actually did it? Snatcher, on the other hand, was proudly grinning. The kiddo has surprised them once again.

"_**What's wrong, Moonboy? Sad your plan didn't work?**_" That proud grin changed to a smug smirk as he looked up to Moonjumper, who phased out of Snatcher to see the results for himself. Snatcher may be held captive, but apparently, that wasn't going to stop him from mocking Moonjumper.

"_How can that be though? I set that contract up so she could fail it! How could she have passed?_"

"_**Don't think these little challenges are gonna stop the kiddo that easily. She's faced tougher challenges and fought tougher foes than this.**_" That's when Moonjumper head shot up upon hearing that statement. He then turned to Snatcher, a dark grin reappearing on his face.

"_Tougher foes, you say?_" Snatcher's grin faded. Wait, what was he planning now?

Moonjumper phased back into Snatcher and flew back up to Hattie's ship. That chef cat and red-hooded brat should be gone by now, giving him a chance to search for the one he was looking for.

Once he entered the Machine Room, he spotted the Mafia Boss jar. He was sitting in his usual spot, contemplating. He then looked up, seeing Snatcher.

"Shadow ghost? What do you want now? Can't you see I'm plotting my vengeance?"

"Snatcher" had a wide dark grin as he said, "Vengeance against the hat-wearing kid, eh?" He picked up the jar, having the Mafia Boss yelp, startled.

"What if I were to say I can get your body back?" The Mafia Boss jar's eyes shot up, giving Snatcher his undivided attention.

Snatcher's dark grin widened, seeing that he caught his interest.

"**I just need you to fight a certain child for me.**"

.

.

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Ack, sorry if this took a while. I feel like my writing has been a little choppy lately and I've been a little busy. I hope this one turned out alright. Meanwhile, coming up next, Down with the Mafia's Encore, featuring Mafia Boss EX. Let's hope Hattie's ready.


	8. Encore!

Hattie cautiously peeked into her room, looking around. No sign of Snatcher at the moment, but he could still pop up at any moment. She had a blue vial from her Brewing Hat in one hand and the completed contract in the other. She was prepared for two situations: either Snatcher will spare her once she shows the contract or she'll fight for her soul.

Her guard slowly lowered as she entered the room, looking around in all directions. So far, still no Snatcher. But going closer to the bed, she did spot something new. She went over and found a raincoat, much like the one she had on now, only brand new. On top of this raincoat was a folded sheet of paper.

Hattie kept the flask on hand while she set down her complete contract on the bed. She picked up the note and read it over.

"_Hey, kiddo! Sorry 'bout the whole soul snatching incident. Guess I got a little greedy. Your soul should belong to me when you truly die, not when you fail to complete a contract's guidelines, after all. So to make up for it, I made you a new raincoat that looks just like your old one! I'm out preparing more challenges, so just leave the Time Piece and contract up where I usually am. Your next one is under the raincoat. Good luck! __**You're gonna need it.**_ _\- Snatcher"_

Huh. This is surprisingly considerate for a possibly Time Piece corrupted, soul stealing ghost. She took off her raincoat and looked it over. She frowned at the sight of the holes where Snatcher's talons got her. Thank the stars he didn't actually scratch her.

"Rest in pieces, raincoat. You've served me well up until now." She then went over to her little trash bin and tucked the torn raincoat in it. She then picked up her new one and looked it over. It looked exactly like her old one. She smiled a little and slipped it on for size. Fits just right.

She then picked up the new contract that was originally underneath the raincoat. But before she could read it...

"Hat Kiiiiiiid!" Hattie jolted, turning to her bedroom doors as Mu rushed through them, panting.

"Mu?" Hattie was glad Mu was looking better now after their last encounter, but she looked really worried. Did something bad happen?

"Kid, it's the Mafia Boss!"

"Oh? Is he saying more mean stuff to you again?" That was a small problem whenever Mu went to the Machine Room and encountered the Mafia Boss. Needless to say, he's been pretty hotheaded about Mu destroying his body and putting his remains in a jar. She hasn't been happy with him either, despite getting some vengeance against him.

"No! He's back!"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know how it happened, but he got his body back!" Hattie's eyes were wide. How is that possible? Wait…

"Could Snatcher have…?" No, how could he have that kind of power to do so? Sure he can steal souls, set up traps, and do some dark magic stuff. But he surely couldn't bring a body back so easily, right? Unless those Deathwish Time Pieces have something to do with this.

"What's worse is that he reopened the HQ." She glanced to the bedside, where Hattie set the Deathwish Time Piece and contract down, and picked up said Time Piece. "He also had one of these on hand. ...What kind of Time Piece is this anyway?"

Hattie quickly grabbed the Time Piece out of Mu's hand and said, "Careful! These are made of dark magic. They're really dangerous." She then blinked, realizing what Mu said.

"Wait...the Mafia Boss has a Time Piece like this? A-are you sure?"

"Yeah. It looked like a Time Piece, but purple instead, like the one you're holding."

Oh no.

Tucking up her new raincoat, she bolted out of her room to the living room, leaving a startled Mu to run behind her. "Wait! Hat Kid!"

Hattie was about to jump out of the hatch to Mafia Town when Mu dashed in front of her and stopped her in her tracks. "Hold on a sec! Where are you going?"

"Mafia HQ. I _need_ to get that Time Piece back."

"Why the rush though?"

Hattie paused, now questioning if she should tell Mu. She recalled back to when she had her talk with Mu about the power of the Time Pieces and how corrupting they can be. If she told her sooner, maybe it would have avoided the world's destruction. Cod only knows what would happen if she tried to get a hold of these Deathwish ones to try and stop the bad guys again.

She sighed and said, "These new Time Pieces are corrupting. More so than the ones I have. ...Will you let me explain?"

Mu quietly nodded, willing to listen.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. The Time Pieces you have that you fuel your ship with have a sort of effect that can make people go crazy when their desires are strong enough and if they want to use said Time Pieces to fill out said desires. And these purple ones were made by the creepy ghost that are more corrupting than yours?"

"That's kind of the long short of it."

Mu glanced down, then back up to her. "Well, I guess that explains why I don't remember much from our fight. I just remember being really angry, wanting to get rid of all the bad guys, yelling at you and...I don't know the rest."

"We basically fought through time and space and you had a literally visible dark aura showing when we fought. I guess that's part of the corruption. You forget your violent actions when the Time Piece's power overtakes you."

"Yikes...and if the Mafia Boss has one of those really bad ones...cod knows what he's going to do." Suddenly Mu seemed fearful. What if the Mafia Boss tries to destroy the town completely? What if enslaves the remaining non-Mafia townsfolk? What if he finally hunts her down and shoots her out of the cannons...just like what happened to her mum and papa?

Hattie noticed her fearful expression and trembling hands as these dark thoughts ran through Mu's mind. She carefully held her hands, having Mu look up at her. Hattie's heart almost twisted up from her expression. She looked so afraid.

"Hattie...I don't want to disappear…I don't wanna end up alone…"

Hattie then hugged her. "You won't. I'm gonna stop him before he does anything bad. No way am I gonna let him hurt my sister."

Mu blinked by the title. "...Sister?"

"You're my family now. Gotta have a title, right?" Hattie showed a tiny smirk while saying this.

Mu paused, taking this information in. Then she had tears lingering in her eyes as she hugged Hattie back. Sister...that's not a bad title. Made her feel a little tough if it meant she had someone to protect.

Hattie then unhugged her and said, "You just stay safe on the ship. I'll take care of the Mafia Boss."

As she walked up to the hatch and grabbed the handle, Mu then went to her side and said, "You mean _we_ will take care of him."

"What?" Hattie turned around, eyes wide.

"I'm not gonna let you infiltrate the HQ alone. Especially not without a plan. Remember what I said about the importance of a plan?"

"That all assaults need a good plan or it'll be a flop. But don't you remember the last time you tried to help me with one of Snatcher's missions? If this is one of them, what if he tries to hurt you?"

Mu frowned and lifted up her hands, making fists. "I'm not scared of that dummy ghost! He's not gonna stop me that easily."

Come to think of it, was getting that Deathwish Time Piece part of her new contract? Hattie pulled it out of her top hat and looked it over. Mu went to her side and looked as well. The title was, "Encore, Encore!" And the condition was to basically defeat the Mafia Boss. Bonuses would include not missing a chance to him and doing it with the One-Hit Hero badge. Hattie never got the badge because that was a death wish without a contract.

Mu then snickered a little, a devious smile showing. That was unsettling to say the least. Hattie looked up to her, wondering what is going through her mind now.

"You basically just have to fight the Mafia Boss and I can't help with that. But does it say I can't help you get into the base so you can fight him?"

Hattie blinked in surprise. She looked back over the contract. No, this contract was straight to the point. She only had to fight the Mafia Boss. It didn't state that she had to infiltrate the base _then_ fight him. Therefore…

"You really _can_ help me!"

"Right! The fighting's gonna have to be on your own, but I know you're tough enough, corrupted Time Piece or no Time Piece. And I can at least get you into the base. I wouldn't be surprised if he hired more of his goons for security."

Hattie stuffed the contract back into her top hat and said, "We should check and see before we come up with our infiltration plan then."

Mu nodded with an eager smile as the two jumped out of the hatch. Mu held onto Hattie as she pulled out her umbrella to help them land safely. They floated past the storm clouds as the rain continued to pour down. Hattie was thankful Snatcher gave her a new raincoat.

"Head for the rooftops. No Mafia should be able to reach or see us there." Hattie nodded as she leaned towards the roof of Mafia HQ. Once they landed, Mu tucked up her hood as she looked down, over the ledge.

"Yep. There are at least 3 guys guarding the entrance. I'm gonna get a bit of a closer look." She then hopped down to the tarp on the left side. Keeping her hood up, she held onto the side of the giant Mafioso sign that stretched past the rooftops. She realized that the two buttons that were there to open the entrance were gone. Now there's a hefty lock for the entrance.

"Shoot." Using the tarp, she jumped back onto the rooftop before she was spotted. "They've got a lock on the entrance now. We're gonna need a key to get inside."

"You think one of the Mafia guys have it?"

"Not bad thinking, kid. So we beat them up, get the key and head inside. We can continue planning once we're in."

Hattie nodded. The two then hopped down from the rooftop, onto the tarp, and landed in front of the Mafia men guarding the entrance.

"Hey, you big brutes! Betcha can't get me!" Hattie had her umbrella ready as Mu taunted the Mafioso.

They growled a little, insulted, and approached the two girls. Hattie made her move, whacking them a few times with her umbrella and Mu landing the finishing blow, knocking them all unconscious.

"Nice job, kid." Mu then checked the unconscious Mafioso's pockets. Checking the back pocket of the second one, she pulled out a key.

"Bingo!" Hattie and Mu went to the door and unlocked it. Mu then turned to Hattie and said, "Brace yourself, Hat Kid. There are probably going to be _lots_ of Mafia inside waiting to clock us."

Hattie nodded, tilting her top hat down. The two then marched inside.

Once in, the two girls hid behind one of the golden Mafia statues near the entrance. Mu kept her hood up as she surveyed the area. Surprisingly, there weren't too many Mafioso.

"Huh. I expected an ambush. Least we're gonna get the jump on them."

"We should probably keep a low profile as we head to the Mafia Boss though."

Mu frowned, but nodded. The two then faced each other. "Then let's go over the finishing part of our plan. We sneak through the kitchen again, but we take out the Mafia inside."

"Why take them out? What happened to keeping a low profile?"

"The chefs in there were how I got captured in the first place. If we knock 'em out, then I'll be fine and continue keeping guard as you head to the Boss."

Hattie supposed that would make sense. Mu continued, "Then you will fight the Mafia Boss, finishing that contract and getting that weird Time Piece back. Once he's knocked down, I'll smash the Mafia Boss into mush and put him back in a jar."

"Mu, no."

"Aw why not? It worked out fine last time."

"Don't you think it's a little too much though?"

Mu gave her a look that told Hattie that she already knew the answer to that question. As excessive as that punishment was, Hattie knew she had a solid reason as to why she wanted to do it. He was basically the reason Mu was homeless and parentless now.

Hattie sighed. "I'll only allow it if you don't really kill him and bring him back to my ship, just like how it was before."

Now it was Mu's turn to sigh. "Fine…"

Now with a plan in mind, the girls snuck out from behind the statue and crawled under the roulette gambling tables that were apparently not made for gambling. They then snuck behind the bar and entered the kitchen.

Four Mafia chefs all looked to Hattie and Mu. Mu immediately let out a small battle cry as she jumped on one of them, hitting them on the head. Hattie quickly went to her aid, whacking him with her umbrella. The other three Mafia immediately attacked.

From outside the kitchen, one could probably hear clattering and dishes breaking coming from within. Any Mafioso that heard thought that was the chefs working hard though. No one bothered to investigate as the two intruders finished the fight, having all four Mafia men unconscious.

"Nice. Now onto phase 3 of the plan." The two made their way to the freezer. Luckily, the freezer door was unlocked this time.

"Now, go on ahead. I'll stand guard, then meet you in the audience once you've defeated him." Hattie nodded and opened the door.

"Be careful, Mu." Mu blinked, then waved her hand dismissively.

"Psh, I don't need luck. I'm always careful." Her confident smirk faded though once she put down her hood and looked to Hattie seriously.

"_You_ be careful though, okay?"

Hattie offered a warm reassuring smile and nodded. She then entered, making her way to the vent that will lead to the Mafia Boss' room. Mu put her hood back up and leaned against the wall next to the door.

Two Mafioso then marched into the kitchen and looked straight at Mu. Mu gasped, startled by their presence.

Their suits were different. Instead of blue, they were black with thin red stripes. Aren't they two of Mafia Boss' higher-ups? Why the sudden entrance? How did they know to check in here?

Without a word, the two marched up to Mu to grab her. Mu took a fighting stance and punched one in the face. But two against one is an unfair game. Soon as Mu took a swing at the first Mafioso, the second one grabbed her, holding her arms behind her back.

"Let me go, you big brutes!" She struggled, but it was of no avail. The two men remained quiet as they marched to where the Mafia Boss was.

Once Hattie finished off the two Mafioso that stood in her way of the Boss, she marched right up to him, umbrella ready. The Mafia Boss hopped down from his throne. Mu wasn't lying; he had his body back.

"So...it is you!"

"You got something that doesn't belong to you."

The Mafia Boss crossed his arms and showed a small dark grin. He then dug through his front pocket of his red coat, pulling out the Deathwish Time Piece. "You mean this, kid with the hat?"

Hattie nodded. "Those are really dangerous, Mafia Boss. We don't have to fight for it."

"But I do not plan to fight for it. I only plan to fight _you_." Keeping the Time Piece in his grasp, he marched to the left and right as he elaborately explained to Hattie what his scheming entails.

"Ever since you and that red-hooded brat defeated me, I've been plotting my vengeance against you both. But being encased in a jar, I could see how it could not be done. My liquid boiling with hatred and anger. ...That is, until your ghostly friend gave me an offer I could not refuse."

He held the Deathwish Time Piece in the palm of his hand as he looked at it with a greedy expression. "With this, the ghost brought my body back and helped me regain control over Mafia Town once more. And I had one to keep for myself to do whatever I desired as long as I got rid of you. Fortunately, that is all I wanted."

He turned to Hattie with a dark grin as he said, "Now, I can use this powerful hourglass to achieve greater things than before! And I will start by getting rid of you. Then, I will finally take care of that red-hooded girl once and for all!"

Hattie now took a fighting stance. He can threaten Hattie, but nobody's hurting Mu on her watch! "I'm not gonna let you do that."

"Then we shall settle this true Mafia style." Hattie was then grabbed from behind and thrown out on stage. The same stage where she fought the Mafia Boss the first time. Mafia men were in the audience as well.

The Mafia Boss then came on stage and looked at the Deathwish Time Piece. "Let us put this to proper use." He then crushed it in his hand, having Hattie gasp as the dark magic contents surround his body.

He then had a sort of rainbow hue glowing on his body as a dark purple aura surrounded him. A wicked grin showed as he pulled out his machetes. "Ready for an encore, little hat-wearing girl?"

Hattie had no choice. She had to stop him. She took a defensive stance. It was hard to admit, but she was afraid of what he was going to do now.

"Then it is...**SHOWTIME**!"

He immediately did his spin attack, but he was much faster this time. Hattie had to be on her toes for this one. As he was spinning, she was quietly questioning why she couldn't spot the blue outline as he was. No way for her to jump on his head without getting thrown off or hurt it seems.

It wasn't until he got dizzy and stopped when she finally spotted the blue outline for a quick second. She wasted no time and whacked him with her umbrella.

Recovering, he pushed her away and charged up. "Supercharge!" Hattie almost yelped, seeing extra sparks, much like his old ultracharge attack. She avoided them well though. Once the Mafia Boss was dizzy again, Hattie whacked him.

The Mafia Boss then hopped off stage, whistled, and sent down stage sandbags. While Hattie avoided them, she yelped, seeing a Mafioso charge at her. She avoided him, but landed against a sandbag. It's not as soft as she hoped it was.

Mafia Boss then hopped back on stage, throwing another supercharge at her. But now she had to avoid that _and_ falling sandbags! She watched her footing on this one.

She whacked him when the opportunity arose, then he charged at her with a spin attack without even a warning. She was knocked off her feet, but quickly got back up as he was coming back her way.

"_He's gotten so much stronger…_" Hattie thought with worry. When she fought him the first time, he barely got a hit on her. Now she was getting knocked left and right.

The battle continued on, with Hattie dodging attacks left and right. It wasn't until he stomped in anger when he changed his attack pattern. Now he threw his machetes like boomerangs and tried to body slam her. Hattie dodge and tried to whack him before the machetes came back, but he practically brushed it off. Was he really not vulnerable at this given moment?

It wasn't until his third attempt when she saw the blue outline, giving her a chance. With a solid whack, he jumped down and whistled for more sandbags. But as Hattie was dodging them, she now had to watch out for _three_ Mafioso. She dodged the sandbags, but landed against one of Mafia men. She knocked him off stage, but that landing for Hattie wasn't a soft one either.

The Mafia Boss then jumped back on stage, doing another spin attack. Hattie got back on her feet, feeling sore now, and dodged, getting better at dodging this attack. She gave him another whack with her umbrella.

He stomped his foot, growling angrily. But then stopped and let out a dark chuckle. "Don't think you're winning now, child." He then pointed backstage. Hattie looked up and gasped.

Mu was tied up, dangling in the air, just like last time. She struggling to break free, but that was of no avail. "Rrgh! You leave Hat Kid alone, you psycho!"

The Mafia Boss seemed to ignore her as he said to Hattie, "I've got your friend captured. Once I'm through with you, she will be next to go. **IN THE TOWN CANNONS**!"

Now Mu's eyes were wide with terror. She began struggling even harder. Hattie's eyes were wide too. She knew the Mafia Boss was ruthless, but surely not this ruthless.

That's when she noticed a Deathwish Time Piece peeking out of his front coat pocket. Did he have an extra one on hand? There was no way he was going to keep that corrupting artifact. Not if he was going to put his sister in danger like this.

"I will give you one chance though. Give yourself up and perish. If you do, I _may_ spare the red-hooded girl."

Hattie blinked, then glared. She then took a fighting stance.

"So be it."

He hopped stage left and shouted, "Mafiaaaaaaa ball!" Mafioso from the crowd gathered up and formed the Mafia Ball, with a small gap. It started rolling towards Hattie a bit faster than she remembered.

"You got this, Hat Kid! Show that baddie who's the real boss here!" Hattie glanced to Mu, smiling at her encouragement, and readied herself to climb up and attack.

Meanwhile, Snatcher was watching from one of the theatre balcony seats. He had a small bucket of popcorn on hand as he said, "Ooh, this is getting good."

"_Enjoying the show, my little puppet?_"

"_**Only cause the kid's winning.**_" Moonjumper frowned. Yes, the child was doing better than he expected. As he watched her knock down the Mafia Boss from his Mafia Ball, he then smiled mischievously.

"_Perhaps it's time to even the playing field then._" While keeping Snatcher under his control, they flew to the stage, floating behind the curtains above, out of everyone's sight. Snatcher then had red strings appear on his fingertips as they looped around the Mafia Boss' arms.

"What the–" They then flashed blue, giving the Mafia Boss a bit of a magic boost. Hattie stopped. Wait, what's happening? Where are those coming from?

She looked up to see the source of the strings, but it was hard to tell from the shadows above. The Mafia Boss then began to laugh evilly as he started his next move.

"Ultra charge!" Hattie gasped, bracing herself and dodging. As she was, Mu shouted for her to look out as more sandbags came down. Mu was pointing them out, helping Hattie dodge.

"Above you! Wait, there goes another one close by! Watch out f–" She was then muffled as thick band of red strings covered her mouth, silencing her.

"_Ah ah ah. Can't have you helping her fight._" Mu looked up and let out a stifled gasp. Red eyes seemed to look straight at her from the shadows. She tried screaming to Hattie, but her screams remained muffled.

Hattie looked to Mu and gasped, seeing the strings. Whoever was controlling those strings was trying to make it harder for her to fight. Like a puppet setting up the stage for his show.

"**MEGA CHAAAAARGE!**" Hattie gasped, focusing back on the fight. Now there came red sparks. They were coming fast too! Hattie tried dodging, but got knocked back by a sandbag and hit by one of the sparks. Her whole body stung in pain and it took her a moment to push herself back up.

Back on her feet, she quickly whacked the Mafia Boss before he recovered. The fight continued as he used his boomerang machetes, Mafia Ball, and the charges. Hattie did better against the Mega Charge, managing to dodge the sparks.

Until, with one final whack, she knocked the Mafia Boss back against the left stage wall. The blue strings stopped glowing, going back to red, and disappeared. The red strings around Mu's mouth vanished as well.

"How...how could I have...l-lost…?" The Mafia Boss felt extremely weak. He could barely move. His limbs felt heavy. Hattie began approaching him, umbrella in hand.

With a cold serious glare, she pointed the tip of her umbrella at him. Using the tip of the umbrella, she opened his coat up a little so she could grab the Deathwish Time Piece.

"Well done, kid! Now uh...do you mind getting me down?" Hattie looked up to her with a nod and a small smile. Going backstage, she flipped a switch, lowering Mu to the ground. Once Hattie untied her, the two hugged.

"Always careful, huh?" Mu blinked and unhugged, crossing her arms. Hattie was smirking now.

"Well you weren't doing any better than me. And those brutes caught me off guard."

"Uh-huh." The two girls then turned to the crowd of Mafia, who then screamed and fled, fearing the girls were planning to go after them next. Mu smirked, then looked to the Mafia Boss.

"I'll take care of him. You just head back and rest." Mu patted Hattie's shoulder and began marching towards the Mafioso, cracking her knuckles.

Hattie frowned a little, but nodded. In case Snatcher decided to use him again, he would be less of a threat if he was in his jar form. She didn't want to stick around for the carnage though. So she headed out of the base, pulled out her regular Time Piece and flew back to her ship.

Just as Mu was ready to start pounding him to a pulp, some red strings appeared from above stage once more and coiled around the Mafia Boss. It then quickly pulled him up and out of sight.

"Whoa, WHAT?!" Mu looked up, wondering what just happened. Where did he go? Either way, if someone helped him escape, she's in big trouble. He may come looking for her. Tucking her hood up, she quickly took off.

Once Mu left and the theatre was empty, Moonjumper turned to the captive Mafia Boss. Snatcher was behind Moonjumper, still tied up.

"_Shame. You disappointed me. But I am a man of second chances. And you'll get yours eventually._" The Mafia Boss' eyes were wide. This wasn't the same spooky shadow that gave him the chance to fight Hat Kid again. This one looked more...menacing.

"_For now, I will need to put you away until you can be of use again, little puppet_." With a wide dark smile, the strings around the Mafia Boss turned blue and flashed. The Mafia Boss began screaming in terror and in pain. Then with a quick flash of light, he turned into a button-eyed doll. His soul was still contained within it, but it was as lifeless as any regular doll. Its appearance was just like his, including little plush machetes in each hand.

Moonjumper giggled with twisted glee as he gently coiled red strings around its arms and made it look like it was dancing. He truly is insane. Snatcher felt intimidated, to say the least. For now though, he had to keep his composure. Someone needs to be the sane one in this mess.

"_**The kid finished her contract. You're not serious on letting him back in the ring after she's beaten him already.**_" Moonjumper's twisted smile became a dark smirk as he turned to his true captive puppet.

"_If the child continues completing these contracts, then I may have a large plan set in place. After all, we're only getting started. She's only finished one region out of the entire planet. There is still much more to do._"

Pocketing the Mafia Boss doll, he phased back into his captive puppet, taking control.

"_With that said, let's make a quick stop at Dead Bird Studios._"


	9. Mission Possible

Hey everyone! Stars above, I apologize for the unsaid hiatus. I kind of lost motivation in doing more Hat in Time stuff for a good while, but in honor of its 2 year anniversary, I bring you another chapter of this fic. I may not update too much, but this, as well as other Hat in Time fics that are in progress, will not go unfinished. I'm trying to break a habit of having unfinished personal projects. But thank you all for being so patient with me. :) So I shall not keep you waiting, fellow readers.

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The next morning, Hattie looked over her new gift from defeating the Mafia Boss: a chef's hat. She smiled a little, as it reminded her of Cookie. She puts it on and snaps her fingers, seeing if it had any special abilities. As she did, a sort of fizzy concoction in a glass bottle appeared in her hands. This hat was much like her brewing hat, only instead of potions, they made fizzy explosives.

Hattie smiled, pleased with this. Tucking the bottle and hat away, she headed into her room. Her smile faded the closer she got to the doors. She knew Snatcher was waiting there, prepared to be more malevolent to her. She almost hesitated to step in and see what he had in store for her now, but she shook her head. She had to remind herself that whatever is going with Snatcher and these corrupted Time Pieces needs to stop. One way or another, she will find a way to save her BFF. So putting on a determined face, she stepped into her room.

Snatcher looked up from his book, still showing that endless wide grin. "Well, good morning kiddo~! Are you ready for another batch of contractual obligations?"

Hattie sighed and shrugged. "I guess as ready as I'll ever be." She approached him near her pillow pile and he held out the next contract.

He then added, "Now, since you did a good job around Mafia Town, I decided to change locations for this." Hattie opened the contract and blinked in mild surprise. Now the next task was at Dead Bird Studios.

"That's right! You're going back into show business again! Though your first task is the hardest one of all: not being a nuisance! Hahahahahahahaha!"

The contract's title read, "Security Breach", where she is asked to infiltrate the studio. Security has increased as well. She would also have to try and complete it without getting caught or at least without 200,000 pons for a fine.

Hattie looked up to Snatcher with a mildly confused expression. "But, I'm welcomed into the studio. Why would I need to break in?"

"Because the contract says so. And I want to see if you're as sneaky as you assume you are. Now, get to it, trooper!"

Hattie frowned, but complied. She headed out of her room and to the hatch. "Snatcher" chuckled darkly and followed.

"_Let's go see how she'll do after we've increased security._"

* * *

Hattie's eyes widened as she exited the vent to get in. Thankfully, the front desk or any other penguins or owls didn't see her enter. But ahead, the contract wasn't kidding about there being more security. Starting at DJ Grooves' side of the studio, there were a lot more Moon Penguins than she remembered. Seems at least Grooves was still working on his next movie though.

Hattie mumbled under her breath, "I'm gonna need a bit of help for this." She pulled out her Time Stop Hat and equipped it. She also checked to make sure she had the Cooldown badge on. Equipped and prepared, she began dashing her way through.

If a penguin caught a glance of her, she would quickly activate the hat and get some distance. The penguin that almost spotted her would then look around confused, then shrug. She had to move quick this time. Luckily, she managed to hop onto the conveyor and move to the Conductor's side of the studio.

He was shouting to the owls as he attempted to direct them in this new movie. Hattie hopped down to the pipe to sneak across, but skidded to a stop, seeing an owl just ahead of her. When he turned around though, she was gone. He shrugged and continued keeping a lookout. Hattie was holding onto one of the beams of the platforms above her. She shimmied up and hopped her way across.

She spotted two owls guarding the path. Using her Time Stop hat, she slipped past and ducked her way through to the next conveyor. Panting, she flipped the switch and hopped aboard.

"This is a little harder than I remembered…" She still recalls the layout of the studio. Upon entering Grooves' side once more, she tied the ribbon in her hair as her Sprint Hat. She then zipped past the penguin about to spot her and past a few others until she hopped along the sandbags to the Conductor's side.

As she ducked behind the cardboard teepees, ready to get on the next conveyor, she heard a faint boom and whistling. She looked around, wondering where that came from. When she looked up, she let out a small scream and dove to the side as a homing missile hit the spot she was just standing on.

"Homing missiles? Oh give me a break!" She wasted no time flipping the switch and diving onto the conveyor. Conductor heard the missile too and stopped, glancing back to around where he heard it. He quietly hummed, seemingly non-existant eyes narrowing.

Back on DJ Grooves' side, she saw the fuse boxes were guarded by a Moon Penguin. No way she can get to the first one, but maybe she can hop across to the other side. Taking a bold leap and air dash, she rolled onto the platform. Before the other Moon Penguin spotted her, she switched to her Time Stop hat and slowed down time.

With no way to get across the next row of cameras, she flipped the switch, turning off the power temporarily as she ran across. Both directors certainly noticed that.

"Whuzzat what? Power problems again?"

"Penguins, double check the fuse boxes!"

Hattie landed on the conveyor and flipped the switch. She will be going past the two sets, so she would have to keep low. Though, unfortunately, there were missiles here too. She came too close to being caught just by dodging them.

Now at the end of the conveyor ride, there were too many owls ahead. No way she could get past easily. But luckily, her Time Stop hat spared her the struggle. As she zipped past the owls with her Time Stop hat activated, the owls would've only seen her in the blink of an eye, if they did see her.

All that was left now was the penguin guarding the small narrow pathway. She knew how to get past him though as she hopped up the small ledge and jumped past him once his back was turned.

Hopping along the sandbags, she stopped at the red carpet area and exhaled with relief. No more guards and she can see the corrupted Time Piece sitting at the very end, just near the giant replica of the Annual Bird Movie Award trophy. She pulled it off and she's fairly sure that she got much less than 200,000 pons in fines.

She walked up the red carpet and picked up the corrupted Time Piece with a small proud smile. "No problem."

"Lassie/Darling?!" Hattie jolted upon hearing two voices behind her. She turned around and saw DJ Grooves and the Conductor approach her.

"What are you doing here, lassie? Security got riled up the moment the lights went off."

"We thought you were the shadow ghost that infiltrated the place before."

Hattie's eyes widened. "Snatcher was here?"

"Yes! We thought ye were him. Last time that peck neck showed up, he threatened to destroy our work in our next movies." Hattie frowned as her gaze turned down to the corrupted Time Piece in her hands. Snatcher's worse off than she thought.

"Darling, what is that you're holding?" Hattie looked back up.

"It's...a Time Piece. But a corrupted one, I think. Snatcher made it." The Conductor now looked uneasy. He already had his bad experience with a regular one.

Hattie decided to explain to the two directors what was happening. The more people that know, the safer they might be if they knew what to expect.

* * *

"So, you think these things are what is causing him to act the way he is," DJ Grooves questioned as they all sat in the break lounge. Hattie replied with a nod as the two directors looked to each other with a concerned expression.

"A-and...yer going through with these contracts he's giving you?"

Hattie replied, "If I don't, I won't be able to help him. Something's wrong with him and I can't get rid of these until I do those contracts. They're hard, but I've been doing alright so far. I'm already done in Mafia Town." She showed a reassuring smile, not wanting them to worry.

"Well, either way, darling. You shouldn't be doing this alone."

"I have to for the most part though. When Mu tried to help me before, she almost got heat exhaustion when Snatcher placed her at the clock tower, surrounded by lava. ...I don't want anything bad happening to you two."

"Regardless, lassie, we're not gonna let that peck neck push you around more than he needs to." The Conductor placed his winged-hands atop her own.

DJ Grooves did the same gesture atop the Conductor's winged-hands. "Of course, darling. If there is _anything_ we can do to help, we'll do it."

"Aye, we'll help you in any way we can."

Hattie warmly smiled. With them offering her help, she felt more confident in getting through this than she did before. All she could say to them was a simple thank you.

"Now, I should get home and turn in my completed contract to Snatcher...then be ready for my next one." Both directors nodded and allowed her to hop down from her chair and head to the exit. With a warm wave to the two, Hattie stepped out and used her regular Time Piece to fly back up to her ship.

DJ Grooves then looked to the Conductor. "Don't get any funny ideas with those new Time Pieces, darling. You already caused enough trouble for her with the one you had before."

The Conductor scowled and glared at him. "I wasn't planning to, DJ Peck Neck. I want to help the lass just as much as you do."

The two then parted ways, back to their sides of the studio, to continue their movies' production. From the shadows, "Snatcher" made himself known as he showed a dark expression. Moonjumper was faintly visible as he kept his strings tied around the real Snatcher.

"_The child got through that one fairly fast. I'm gonna need to up my game a bit if I am to get her soul._" His line of sight then turned to the old movie posters from the last award ceremony, where Hattie was the star in them. Moonjumper then showed a dark grin as he hummed and placed a hand under his chin.

"_I wonder if she would want to do a rerun of the movies she was a part of before…_"


	10. Running Out of Time

Wow, it has been a **LONG **time since I looked back on this fic! I apologize for making you all wait, but I did want a break to focus on other multiple projects and make sure my writing didn't end up getting worse by forcing myself to write chapters. I'm slowly getting back on track now though and I'm hoping that these future chapters won't be too choppy. Luckily I at least made notes. But enough of my rambling and excuses; let us finally continue!

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The next day, the Conductor and DJ Grooves were already off to a stressful start to their day. Somehow, by high demand, they were asked to do a re-run of their latest movies. So many various comments. "Needs more explosions." "Not enough glamour." "The murderer culprit was too obvious." But the directors were not aware that the actual public didn't want this; "Snatcher" did. He was basically the one that wrote up all the comments and complaints while adjusting his own hand-writing a bit to make it seem like they came from multiple people.

Now the two were separately in their offices, trying to think over how to approach this. It's so much more difficult to deny the public when it's _this_ demanding; how will they get good approval ratings for the next Annual Bird Movie Awards if they do deny?

After a few cups of coffee and some thinking, the Conductor at least made his stance on the decision first. No way was he going to do a re-run of the movies. A re-run of a movie is too unoriginal. Besides, if a re-run had to happen, it should be modified from the old one. The Conductor didn't see much to change though. They are what helped him win in the first place.

Another important factor for his decision was his train. He _finally_ got it fully repaired and told himself not to put it through the same situation in his Train Rush movie. It was a horrible aftermath experience emotionally and financially. No way was his baby getting blown up again.

The Conductor exited his office, throwing away a small handful of the recommendations in the trash bin. "Whether the public wants it or not, me train is not getting blown up like that again." He began heading back up the stairs to his side of the studio to continue his new movie idea.

To his misfortune though, "Snatcher" was watching him from the shadows. Moonjumper raised an eyebrow in amusement. "_I see the old director doesn't want to follow along. Well, we can work with that._"

With Snatcher under Moonjumper's control, the two fly out to the Owl Express train parked just behind the studio lot. "Snatcher" rubbed his clawed hands together mischievously. "Time to bring out some _real_ modern movie magic."

He darkly chuckled as he began flying through the studio, sticking to the shadows so no one would spot or notice him. To his luck, the Conductor still had plenty of explosives stock-piled from the Train Rush movie. Gathering all he could carry and still going back for more, he filled the train with all the explosives and sawblades he could, making sure it would look like it did in the old movie.

Snatcher then went to the front of the train to pull the throttle switch and take the train off its brakes. The whistle was heard as it began chugging off without the Conductor aboard. The owls that were waiting outside the studio for the Conductor saw the train take off and quickly rushed out, shouting for it to stop. They had places to go on that train!

The Conductor was just exiting his studio and heading towards his train right as it was taking off. He was looking down at his watch though. "So the first stop is Raven's Peak…" He then heard the whistle and looked up. If his eyes were visible, they would widen immensely at the sight of his train taking off without him. "Whadda what?!" He quickly tried to catch it on foot, shouting for it to stop.

Hat Kid was about to arrive on the scene as well, believing she should check in with the directors. Floating down, she spotted the train taking off. She didn't think much about it until she saw the Conductor and the owls, going after it on foot. Now this seemed to be a problem.

Redirecting her umbrella, she glided down to the train and landed on the caboose platform. On the backdoor, there was a new contract attached to it. The second she read the title, her eyes widened. "10 Seconds Until Self-Destruct"?! There's no way Snatcher is serious. This train is huge! She won't be able to reach the end of the second car in 10 seconds.

Not even bothering to read the terms and bonuses, she dashes inside. Badgeseller was on board and holding onto his staff while propped up against the wall. The train was moving at alarming speeds and explosions could already be heard in the next car.

Hattie was about to address the Badge Selle, but all he could tell her was, "Hurry and get to the front of the train!" Hattie nodded and now wasted no time. Actually, she truly had no time! The timer that appeared in her pocket already started counting down.

"**10 seconds until self-destruct.**"

Hattie screamed as she tied her sprinting ribbon in her hair and began making a mad-dash to the next car door. The timer continued counting down. How was she going to make this?!

"Snatcher" laughed as he watched her from the outside. The real Snatcher, however, was struggling in his binds. Even _he_ found this unfair.

"_**10 seconds to get through the whole train with all the traps in place? There's no way you can expect the kid to finish this!**_" He was confident in the kid's abilities, but the only way the kid would be able to do it was either be capable of teleporting, flying, or stopping time altogether. The kid can't do the first two abilities and her Time Stop Hat can only slow down time. Unfortunately, Moonjumper thought ahead on that factor and already enchanted the timer so that the Time Stop hat could not slow down the timer. That train was blowing up in 10 seconds no matter what she used.

"_I don't expect her to finish it. That's what is going to make this a quick easy death._" His dark grin widened as he watched Hattie struggle and push through the door to the second car. There was only 3 seconds left now.

Snatcher didn't want to watch, but Moonjumper was making him as the two were hearing the timer continue counting down. Hattie was screaming the rest of the way as she frantically tried avoiding the missiles and acid.

"**3…2...1–**" A bit of static was then heard. Then after 20 seconds the automated voice changed.

"**10 seconds until self-destruct**."

"_What?!_" How was that possible? The train should have blown up. Hat Kid should have lost. Why was the timer still going?

The answer to that question was the Badge Seller. Given his glitchy broken form, he had capabilities to alter various things in this world. He directed his powers to the timer connected to the explosives, glitching them so that Hattie in actuality had more than 10 seconds to get through. He would add 20 seconds each time she reached either the end of a car or at least halfway. Seems Moonjumper didn't account for the Badge Seller's interference.

Hattie was confused as well as she took the timer out of her pocket and looked at it. It had a couple purple and black pixels shimmering off it as the numbers would glitch. She smiled, feeling more confident in getting through this contract, as she continued forth to the top of the train.

Hattie continued mad-dashing through, getting a couple extra seconds with each large obstacle she passed. She would hop and air dash onto a platform, skip a couple fire rings, and continue running. However, Snatcher added an extra feature atop the train: homing missiles.

"Oh come on," was Hattie's main reaction as she dove out of the way of them and continued running. The missiles that hit the train would create holes in them. Hattie swung through the window, shuffling past the broken glass, as she reached the room with lava.

She double checked her timer. Around 25 seconds. Good. She kept running. Pillars of fire circled around the platforms she hopped across, burning the end of her cap to a crisp, and she narrowly avoided getting hit by one of the bombs that would pop out onto the platforms. With the last platforms, she decided to use her Time Stop Hat to properly avoid the pillars of fire. She then heard her timer clearly.

"**10, 9, 8…**"

Hattie scrambled off the platforms and headed to the door.

"**7, 6…**"

She slams through the door, finding the shut-off button.

"**5, 4…**"

She leapt forward and landed on it, shutting down the explosives. She let out a shaky exhale of relief. Her clothes were burnt up, she was bruised in a couple places from bumping into a few walls to dodge some obstacles, and her hair was a bit of a mess. That was the worst.

There was still one more thing she had to do though. She went to the front control panel and looked it over frantically. She then looked to the levers next to her, noticing they had the words "Throttle" and "Brake" written on them.

She quickly pulled on the brake while kicking the throttle back upright. The train came to a screeching halt, having Hattie thrown a bit forward to the control panel. Luckily, she caught herself by propping her hand against the panel before the rest of her body slammed against it.

Hattie hopped out of the locomotive, exhaling with relief. Then she heard a familiar Scottish voice scream out, "ME TRAIN!" When the Conductor finally caught up, he saw his train in ruins once more. Two cars were thrown off the tracks and the rest were filled with acid, lava, holes, and explosives that have still not gone off.

He fell to his knees, picking up a broken board from one of the cars. "...What have ye done…?" Hattie cautiously walked up to him.

"I-It wasn't me, Conductor. I think Snatcher might've...I-I tried to stop it and...I'm so sorry…"

The Conductor kept his head low as his hands trembled. Hattie wasn't sure if it was because of his current distraught or anger. He then spoke in a low tone. "Lassie. Leave."

Hattie hesitated. "B-but–"

"JUST–...just go...I need a minute." He luckily caught himself before he let out an outburst. But that was enough to have Hattie quietly nod and head back to the studio. The Conductor sighed, a bit relieved that she listened. He didn't want to lose his temper on the lass. She didn't deserve that if it really was Snatcher's fault.

The owls finally caught up, panting and clearly out of breath. "S-Sir…?" The Conductor got to his feet and cleared his throat as he turned to address the Express Owls. He then said as calmly as he could, "We've got a bit of cleaning up to do."

* * *

A little bit later, Hattie was sitting at the Dead Bird Studio lounge room, head resting on her folded arms. The way he dismissed her made her believe that this was all her fault and he was mad at her. Just as they finally started making up for what happened after the Annual Bird Movie Awards, this happens.

DJ Grooves quietly entered the lounge and spotted Hattie all along at one of the lounge tables. "Everything alright, darling?"

Hattie sighed and turned her head to look to Grooves. "No. I think the Conductor's mad at me again." DJ Grooves got a good look at Hattie's current condition and his eyes widened, alert.

He quickly goes to her side and looks her over. His voice lowered in a threatening way as he asked, "Did he do this to you?"

Hattie frantically waved her hands. "No no no! This just uh...happened when I was trying to stop the train. I think...Snatcher started it up with all the explosives and stuff inside, since the Conductor and the owls weren't on board and were chasing after the train instead. So I had to rush to the front and stop it. ...Didn't have a lot of time like before so I got a little hurt along the way."

DJ Grooves hummed, calming himself back down. Good, the Conductor didn't intentionally do anything harmful to his little star. Regardless, he was going to treat her. He takes her hand and starts heading to his office with her quietly trailing behind.

"You're not gonna be mad at the Conductor, are you?"

"Of course not, darling. Though, I am now a little ticked off at that shadow ghost for having you endure all that." They enter his office and Grooves sets her down on a chair, then starts looking through a mini-fridge. He pulls out a couple ice packs, grabs a couple clean towels, and wraps them up in said towels.

He hands Hattie one and says, "Just put this on the bruise on your elbow, darling." Hattie nodded in understanding and does as she's told. Grooves, meanwhile, places the other one on her other arm, holding it there for her.

She quietly smiled and thanked him, then noticed the slips of paper all over his large vanity table. "Are those more bills?"

Grooves looked back to them and sighed. "No, they're public recommendation slips. Somehow, the Conductor and I both got our fair share of recommendations to remake our movies that we qualified for the Annual Bird Movie Awards."

Hattie hummed in thought. It can't just be a coincidence. "Do you think Snatcher was the one that actually wrote those?"

DJ Grooves sighed. "That wouldn't surprise me if that's the case. I know the Conductor at least refused, but after hearing that his train took off with the explosives, I assumed the worst and thought he just lied to supposedly get ahead of me."

Now Hattie frowned in worry. If that's the case, Snatcher must've made a remake of Train Rush by force, even without the Conductor present. She took out the now-completed contract she grabbed from the door of the caboose and read it over. The title read, "10 Seconds Until Self-Destruct" while the main term underneath it stated, "Complete Train Rush." That confirmed it for Hattie; Snatcher truly was the one behind remaking the movie.

DJ Grooves sighed. "If that really is the case, I'd hate to see you possibly getting wrapped up in one of my movies without my supervision and directing. I may have to go along with what the 'public' wants and remake the Big Parade, since that's at the highest demand."

Hattie nodded in understanding, tucking her contract back in her hat. "I'm sure Snatcher is probably preparing for that. But if I'm to help him get out of his corrupted state, we have to do this."

DJ Grooves nodded, then lowered his flipper, handing her the second ice pack. "Then I'll have my penguins and the Express Owls that helped me with the parade last time preparing the set. I'll make sure to check the fireworks before getting them set on stage as well, just so we don't have another homing missile incident."

Hattie smiled and got up. "Thanks, DJ Grooves. I'd better get home and change then. I should still have the parade outfit in my closet." Grooves nodded and waved as she took off with a wave in return.

DJ Grooves then quietly sighed as he turned back to his vanity table and picked up one of the forms.

"Hmm...odd though that more birds have already signed up to be in the marching band…"


End file.
